


I'm following my orders now.

by demonGirl_yasha



Category: The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dark, F/M, Gen, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:42:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23067190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonGirl_yasha/pseuds/demonGirl_yasha
Summary: Alec squared his shoulder, turned his back on his brother then cast a challenging look over his shoulder, “Try to stop me,” he said before he dropped down. Enormous wings sprouted from his back as he descended.
Relationships: Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane & Catarina Loss, Magnus Bane & Ragnor Fell, Magnus Bane & Raphael Santiago, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Maryse Lightwood/Robert Lightwood, Simon Lewis/Isabelle Lightwood
Comments: 9
Kudos: 79





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I have a thing for Movie AUs. This one is from the Legion movie. I had written this originally for Destiel (Dean/Castiel) when I first watched the movie way, way back but couldn't finish it; it felt like somethings are not right. Then, I found out about Shadowhunters (thank you, Netflix) and just went on and finished it. I read the books and watched the series. I love both versions, and in my opinion, they are both beautifully created. I incorporated the scenes and dialogues from the movie and changed and retained some of its characters. Also, English is not my native language. All mistakes are my own. Constructive criticisms are welcome. This humble creation is a work of fiction, and I do not make money off of Shadowhunters and Legion, they are own by their respective creators, I'm just borrowing their characters. Lastly, this is MPREG, obviously male-male relationship, if that is something that makes you uncomfortable, STOP, and hit the back button now. Otherwise, enjoy it. Happy reading!

**Part I**

A hunter’s moon reflected eerily in a greasy puddle of water. Or it could be the smog that was just making that ominous dark color. Something moved in the reflection, a dark shape, growing as it came nearer, then two black boots landed hard in the water.

Alexander, in tattered clothing, tumbled into the pavement of an alleyway, his hands out to slow the impact. He heaved a deep breath and climbed to his feet, recovering fast from his fall. His chiseled features, dark unruly hair, and deep-set blue eyes showed the signs of what was one hell of a fight.

He quickly checked out his surroundings, nothing but brick walls around him. The rumble of thunder and the hammering of rain motivated him to move. He pulled his tattered bomber jacket across his torso and dashed to the mouth of the alley and reached a street just in time to see a fleet of police cars tearing around the corner, sirens wailing and headed his way. He reeled back into the alley and ducked behind a dumpster as the blue and red lights of the police cars whipped past.

Alexander waited for the lights to disappear then pulled a massive knife decorated ornately with symbols from the back of his pants. He ran his finger along its razor-sharp edge and watched as blood beaded up. He began to peel his tattered jacket, revealing skin literally covered in dark tattoos, and crouched on the dirty ground.

The brick wall behind him reflected his crouched form in shadows, and then two large shapes unfolded from his back, stretching up into what are unmistakably shadows of wings.

The rain pounded harder like it was a punishment from the heavens, and the glint of the knife came down fast. The downpour of the rain muffled the dreadful sound of flesh tearing away from the bone.

Alexander’s bloody knife clattered to the pavement, followed by his ungodly scream rising up from the alley, his blood, mixing, swirling with the rain as it flowed freely close on the gutter.

Not far in the distance, the darkness was filled with the sounds of sirens, shattering glass, and sporadic gunfire as the city fell into chaos.

Alexander walked the city streets as it was slowly consumed by chaos, face tight with pain, and stopped in front of a dark storefront across the street. He ignored the disorder and an overwhelming urge to help the creatures he once had watched. He was an angel-no, not anymore; he was a man now just like the creatures he had sworn to protect, with a mission.

He stared with determination at the establishment across the street-cavernous. A haven for survivalists. The hard rain and thunder swallowed the smashing sound as Alexander dropped down through one of the skylights in a shower of glass.

He busted inside the bathroom of Guns & Sports and tore a first aid kit from the wall and tossed it to the sink. His tattered jacket fell to the tiled floor. The light from the fluorescent illuminated his muscled body full of tattoos, starting on the side of his neck to the deeper side of his pelvis, peered through the edge of his dark pants. The symbols looked like writings in form and language that was lost long ago to the modern world.

He turned his back to the mirror, revealing more tattoos-on his back and two horrifically gaping wounds running down between both shoulder blades, one wound cutting a tattoo in half. His bloody fingers threaded a needle not with thread but with a fishing line and began to stitch the wounds closed as he greeted his teeth in half, fresh blood pooled around his feet.

After the wounds were cleaned and patched, he looked around the bathroom and spotted a cupboard with fresh clothes, probably the shop owner or one of the staff. His father must still have affection for him, the clothes he found were dark and fitted him well, he even found another jacket.

Alexander left the bathroom and raced along with the endless racks of guns, searching for the right weapons, his every movement precise like he had trained for this his whole existence.

Weapon after ferocious weapon got tossed into rifle bags. Alexander grabbed the bags and headed for the exit but stopped cold – the place was locked uptight. Metal gate over the front doors and bars over the window. _How the hell was he going to get out of this place?_ He thought grimly. He weighed the bags and considered his options, he could leave the bags and exit through the way which he came in, but there was no way he could carry those bags all the way up, not without his angelic powers. He considered the front door and decided. _They needed him_.

Outside the street, two cops in an LAPD squad car cruised through downtown, this part of the city was eerily quiet, not a sign of earlier chaos. Officer Raj was driving the wheel, his partner Officer Owen was riding shotgun. It was busty night, even their radio didn’t even seem to want to stop buzzing with activity.

Raj stared out at the city’s rain-soaked denizens with deep hatred, “God damn animals, he growled as he eyed the streetwalkers, “Nights like this, I wish I could take a match to this city just so I could see all these fuckers go to hell.”

“A good old barbeque, huh?” Officer Owen laughed.

Raj didn’t smile, he was fucking serious, “A fresh start. That’s what’s this place needs,” he held up a finger like a pistol and aimed it at the people they passed, picking them off one by one,” BANG! BANG! BANG!”

Owen eyed his partner warily when Officer Raj barked a dark laugh, “Jesus! You know Raj, I’m so happy we get to share beautiful moments like this. They really brighten my da—”

Officer Owen was interrupted by a loud explosion as they were about to pass a storefront, fiery debris rained onto the squad car. Raj slammed on the brakes, and both cops looked through the windshield just in time to see Alexander blatantly exiting through a gaping hole he had blown in front of the store, bulging rifle bags in each hand.

“Freeze!” Raj and Owen shouted, both already out of the squad car and crouching behind the open doors, guns trained on Alexander, “Drop the bags! Hands on your head!”

In the distance, a pop-pop of gunfire was heard, their police radio crackled with instant chatter, many voices were talking at once. _SHOTS FIRED...CODE THREE...OFFICER DOWN!_ The cops shifted nervously and tried to stay focused.

Alexander relaxed his demeanor as he sensed the cops’ uneasiness, “It’s starting. There isn’t much time,” he tried to explain.

“Shut the fuck up! And drop the bags now!” Raj ordered.

Alexander let the bags hit the ground, annoyance clearly painted on his face. He slowly placed his palms on his head when he heard the other officer barked, “Hands on your head! On your head!”

“Turn around! Turn the fuck around!” Raj shouted as he approached, Alexander, calmly, slowly, turned around.

Raj rushed in to restrain Alexander, grabbing one of the man’s wrist. Fingers tightening, Alexander closed his eyes as a terrible decision was made. His movement was a blur; in an instant, he had broken the cop’s arm. Ignoring the pained yell, Alexander spun the officer helplessly around and turned him into a human shield. Now, it was Alexander who was in charge, a tip of a gun pressed to Officer Raj’s head as he faced the other cop.

Owen struggled to find a clear shot, he couldn’t, “Let him go!” he shouted.

“Take the shot, Owen!” Raj yelled.

“I said let him fucking g-g-g-“ Owen started but was interrupted as his body began to shake, the words stuck in his gullet like a hopping disc.

“Owen?” called Officer Raj, uncertainly.

The street lamps flickered and strobed, adding to the confusion. Alexander watched as Owen squeezed his eyes shut in pain, his entire body quaking and heels clicking the pavement as if some immense pressure were building inside him. Alexander tightened his hold on both cop and gun - _they_ had found him.

With a horrifying sound of cracking bones, Officer Owen’s mouth twisted into an impossibly wide smile like a bizarre clown. The cop’s eyes snapped open and zeroed in on Alexander, the force inside him was now in full control. The police looked at Alexander with calm recognition, and his voice was guttural, inhuman, “What are you doing, Alexander? These weren’t your orders.”

“What did you say!?” The cop in Alexander’s hold asked, trying to get a handle on what was happening, but Alexander knew exactly what the creature possessing the other police was talking about.

“I’m following my orders now.”

“Then you will die along with the child.”

“Owen, you know this guy!?” Raj shouted, angry now.

Without batting an eye, Owen shot his partner in the head, the body dropped dead leaving Alexander without cover and aimed back his gun, but the other angel was faster, he was already firing back.

Bullets ripped up the concrete and hitting, the squad car window shattered, the possessed cop’s chest exploding with lead. Alexander was left standing, smoke firing from his gun. With efficiently of a soldier, he picked up the rifle bags and loaded them in the trunk of the squad car. He got in the car, floored it and roared away as the flickering light from the street lamps went out with rapid succession, an eerie wave chased after him and left an entire city into darkness.


	2. Part II

**Part II**

_8 months earlier..._

_It was deep in the night, the club was buzzing with lights and intoxicated patrons dancing to the upbeat, sultry music._

_The loud music reverberating through the entire establishment as sweaty bodies gyrated to it, in the middle of the chaos, was a beautiful man, his Asian features highlighted by strobe lights dancing to the rhythm. His tanned, sweaty long limbs were up in the air showing well-toned biceps. His hips sway seductively, inviting the sweaty bodies that danced around him._

_He threw his head back and his eyes rimmed with glittered eyeliner caught glimpsed of a man clad in black clothes, standing in the middle of sweaty, gyrating bodies, unmoving, watching. ‘Too early for Halloween’ he mused then his back to his own world._

_He continued to dance, his body swaying, he stilled when large hands gripped his hips, and he was pulled into a hard chest. Frowning, he turned to come face-to-collarbone with a prominent body of a man, he looked up, and it was the same man from earlier. But this time, he could clearly see his features; a partial tattoo that looked like letter “Z” at the side of his neck, peeking through the edge of his shirt and his blue, blue eyes._

_“Magnus.”_

_Magnus Bane jerked; eyes wide when a whisper brushed his ears, the voice was cold, and it brought chills down his body, but it also felt warm, safe. The place was still buzzing with loud music, but the space around them seemed to block all sounds, all movements._

_“Don’t be afraid,” the man whispered again._

_“Who are you?” Magnus asked, looking into the eyes of the stranger, the eyes the color of the stormy sky over the sea. Magnus felt compelled and stepped closer to the embrace – he felt more than he saw the faint glow surrounding the mysterious stranger._

_“I’m not going to hurt you,” once again, the voice tickled his ears._

_The soft voice, the strong arms, the feeling of warmth and safety, and the blue, blue eyes of the stranger was all Magnus could remember when he woke up in his bed, in his apartment, in the morning. Beside him, a single white feather laid._

_Alexander…the wind whispered._

Magnus was startled awake, breathing hard and covered in sweat. That dream again, except he knew it wasn’t a dream – he had evidence to prove it.

The sun had yet to rise, Magnus switched on a lamp, the light illuminated the cramped bedroom, not much larger than the cot itself and pulled himself up, cradling his pregnant belly, decided that he was not getting any sleep and walked out of the room.

A couple of ancient trailers were bathed in the eerie blue light of the night’s final moments. It looked like the trailers had not moved from this patch of Mojave Desert in decades. Magnus walked out of Catarina’s trailer door and stepped wearily into the chilly western morning. This place had been his home for a few days now since he and Catarina, tagging along with two teenagers, decided to visit their friend Ragnor Fell and Raphael Santiago and hopefully convinced the former to sell the place and moved in with them in New York. Nothing but desert for miles in all directions, except for a two-lane highway and a weather-beaten truck stop diner that Ragnor and Raphael would open for business in a few hours. Magnus gazed up to the diner’s slanted roof, where a large sign glowed like a beacon in the darkness – Paradise Falls Gas N’ Dine.

“You okay, Magnus?” Raphael asked. Magnus turned to see a young man in his late teens, standing from a trailer doorway as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

“Sorry to wake you, Raphael,” Magnus said, hands on his belly, rubbing, “he’s been kicking up a storm all night. Must know something I don’t.”

Raphael approached him and saw the strain on his eyes, “Another bad dream?”

Magnus struggled for a moment but nodded, “It’s just stress, Raphe,” he patted his belly, “there’s too much to worry about.”

“You know we’re here for you.”

“And I appreciate everything you, Cat and Ragnor are doing for me but a month from now I’ll have a new person to take care of and I’ll have to start thinking what the hell I’m doing with my life.”

When Magnus learned he was pregnant, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Male carriers were not unheard of, but male pregnancies didn’t happen a lot, and carriers only occupied a small percent of the world population. On top of that, he didn’t know who the other parent was or what their name was. He only had a vague memory and the evidence of that night.

But he had welcomed the living life with an open heart, although admittedly, it was hard at first. Maybe what had driven him to accept the child was because of his own childhood. He barely remembered his own parents, what they looked like. His childhood memories were of the orphanage, the caretakers, his first meeting of Ragnor and Cat, of how they were inseparable growing up. An infant Raphael then came along who was an instant addition to the trio.

Out of their small group, it was Ragnor that got adopted, and they promised themselves not to forget each other. Magnus, Cat, and Raphael were left at the orphanage, they also left when they turned eighteen. Ten years had passed, and they all meet again, still best friends. They came back for a then fifteen-year-old Raphael, and Ragnor bought a patch of desert land from his inheritance.

A whining voice on Magnus’ voice mail was what made him and Cat, bringing along Clary and Simon, hopped into the nurse’s old trailer and drove a hundred miles to the desert.

“We will help you. We will do this together.”

Raphael’s voice broke his reverie, Magnus smiled warmly at him and pinched his cheek playfully, earning an indignant protest from the young man.

The business was opened unusually early today even though the place didn’t get many customers, that’s because of the location of the said business, and they were surprised to see a UHAUL truck stopped. A family of three climbed out – a prim and proper suburban couple and a young lady that could make most people felt undress, that was a few hours ago.

The old tv was turned on to provide some entertainment to their meager guests flickered back and forth from various channels, oddly enough, the stations were related to religions. The signal continued to roll and snowed, then a loud whack was heard; the image on TV momentarily improve but then slowly turned back the other way.

Ragnor Fell, the owner of the fine roadside establishment, attempted to fix the old television hanging in the corner above the counter by pounding the fuck out of it. He considered the tv with a scowl as he deftly rolled an engraved silver dial of the television.

“By the Angel, Rag, one of these days that thing’s gonna hit you back,” said a black woman behind the counter, cooking up a storm behind the grill, a white chef hat and a cliché ‘Kiss the Cook’ printed apron hugging her front.

“What are you talking about, Catarina? We got a special relationship here,” Ragnor said as he continued to abuse the tv.

“Yeah, they got names for that type of relationship,” chuckled Cat as additional whack was heard, and the tv seemed to be settling down.

On the other side of the diner, the young lady from the car with UHAUL was leaned seductively over the jukebox, fiddling with buttons, then the restaurant was flooded by a Cat Steven’s Wild World. She was a stunning young woman with long black hair and a beautiful figure, which she swayed gently to the music. The little fabric doubling as her mini-skirt didn’t leave much to the imagination. She was the very picture of beauty and rebellion.

“It’s disgusting,” Maryse, the suburban wife from the expensive car groused as she watched the young woman.

Robert, the suburban husband, turned, “You’re right. It’s disgusting,” he agreed as he watched the scintillating action from a booth across the diner. The couple was dressed conservatively was very much out of place.

“Really, how can she go outside like that?” Maryse asked, eyes wide.

“I don’t know. Why don’t we just ask our daughter?” Robert replied, he clearly had this conversation on too many occasions.

“Robert, don’t,” Maryse grabbed her husband’s arm, pleaded, “You’ll embarrass me.”

Robert ignored his wife and asked with quite a loud voice, “Isabelle, honey? Your mother was wondering if you got dressed this morning with the specific intention of showing your ass off to the entire world?”

The girl who was called Isabelle turned to her parents with a caustic smile, “Yeah, that’s because I woke up hoping to get double-teamed by a couple of meth-head truckers in the bathroom of some desert shithole,” she paused, then, “it’s a good thing we stopped here,” and with that, she turned back to the jukebox.

Catarina watched the exchanged discreetly from behind the counter, clearly entertained. The girl had spunk. Atta girl. She liked her. On the other side of the diner, in the farthest booth, sat the besties, Clary and Simon. They had come with them for a few weeks’ getaways. The besties watched rather indiscreetly, Clary elbowed Simon in the ribs as once again he was mesmerized by the swaying hips of one called Isabelle.

Robert turned back to his wife, his smile, rigid, “I feel satisfied with her answer, “I really do.”

Maryse buried her face in her palms and moaned dramatically, “I’m being punished for something. I know it.”

A black Cadillac Escalade blazed a path as bass bumping hip-hop drifted over the vast expanse of the western desert. The noontime baked the strip of the highway slicing through the barren desert but was ignored by the heavy beats thundering within the vehicle. The stereo in his rig could shake mountains, but Jace Wayland, thug style handsome and straight-up bad boy, didn’t give a fuck.

He passed a weathered road sign that said: Paradise Falls Next Service is 50 Miles. Fifty miles!? Jace's expression showed that was not good news and grabbed his cellphone off the passenger seat, “Shit!” he exclaimed. No signal.

As he drove deeper into the highway, he spotted the truck stop diner just up the road and drove faster. His Escalade pulled off the highway and rolled to a stop at the single row of old gas pumps. Jace got out and surveyed the scenery with dismay – the place looked like time had forgotten about it.

Attached to the diner is the mechanic’s bay with grease stains and rusty car parts littered the ground. Behind it was a trailer. The only thing here that looked reasonably new was the UHAUL truck parked in front of the garage with its hood up.

Jace grabbed a crumpled hand-drawn map from the front seat and flattened it out on the roof of his car, spinning it around. Which way was north? “Hodge, your fucking directions suck, man,” he muttered, complaining. He rechecked his cellphone. Still no signal. So, he shuffled around to the side of the diner in search of a payphone. He brightened when he found one but instantly deflated when he found out that it was broken for many years.

Leaning next to the broken phone, however, was a man, wearing a shabby, faded waiter uniform draped over a shirt that was stretched tight around a very pregnant belly. Adding to his perfect ‘soon-to-be-mama’ look was a white lollipop stick dangling from his lips. The plastic name tag attached to the man’s chest was ‘Magnus.’

Jace took the appearance of the male and frowned at the litter of candy wrappers scattered around his feet. He had a sweet tooth too, but this was too much. Jace felt his own teeth aching just by watching. “Hey,” he called out. Magnus eyed him and took the lollipop out, one eyebrow arched in question. “You know that too much sugar ain’t good for the baby.”

Magnus popped the lollipop back in his mouth and considered him, teeth crushing the candy into tiny pieces and then threw out the stick, “Guess, I should stop eating them then,” he replied, then asked. “Can I help you?”

Jace pulled out his crumpled map and showed it to the other man, “Am I in the right place?”

Magnus peered at the map, answered, “Only if nowhere’s right because that’s where you are.”

“Sonuvabitch,” Jace cursed, “There another phone around here? You know, one that works?”

Magnus looked at him and shrugged, “Ragnor will probably let you use the diner phone if you ask him real nice..and pay him something.”

“I can handle that,” Jace nodded, “You got pancakes here?”

“This way,” Magnus motioned for him to follow.

The door to the diner jingled as Magnus followed by Jace entered. Clary’s eyes lighted up when she saw the newcomer, Jace noticed her too and gave a smirk. The suburban couple, on the other hand, shot a look of apprehension in his direction, as if he personified their worst nightmare. Probably, he did.

Magnus headed to the register and dug out another pack of candies from underneath the counter, turned to Jace, “Specials are on the board,” then tipped off his chin in the direction of a man on a chair, “that’s Ragnor.”

“Where have you been, Magnus?” Ragnor asked as he stepped off from the said chair, “this ain’t resort, you know. I got orders stacking up here.” Magnus stuck out a tongue at him in retaliation. In truth, there wasn’t any order stacking up, but it made Ragnor felt better saying it. He looked at Magnus and saw a candy that was about to be unwrapped, he scrunched his nose, “You best not to eat those junks again. Not in your condition.”

Magnus gestured to his belly and put a hand on his hip, “Can my condition really get any worse? Besides, you’re not one to talk,” he bickered.

“What? I quit two years ago,” Ragnor bickered back.

“Yeah, so why are you still carrying that posh lighter around for?”

“It was a gift. I’m sentimental. I don’t want to forget how much I hate her guts.”

Magnus snorted. Clearly, this was an issue they loved to bicker about.

“Hey, man!” Jace interrupted the bickering duo, Ragnor turned to him and didn’t like what he saw. “Can I use your phone? My cell doesn’t get a signal around here, and the payphone outside is a bust.”

Ragnor was about to respond when Robert Lightwood, the suburban husband approached, oblivious to the conversation he was cutting, “Excuse me? Any news about when our truck might be fixed? You said your boys would have us on the road ages ago. The rates we’re going, we’ll be lucky to make it to Scottsdale by Christmas.”

Jace frowned at the well-dressed man. Ragnor sighed in annoyance. “Goddammit. Where the hell is Raphael?”

“I’ll go look for him,” Magnus volunteered and was out of the diner before Ragnor could say anything about it.


	3. Part III

**Part III**

Raphael was in the mechanic’s bay, tinkering, but not on the thing he was supposed to be working on. Magnus watched him for a moment as the younger man wiped a cloth on a grimy piece of wood, deep in thought.

Raphael was carefully cleaning an old crib on the workbench. An unsettling intensity in his eyes as he wiped the grime off the piece of wood, revealing an image of an angel.

Magnus carefully approached, “Hey, Raphe,” he saw the boy visibly froze and knew he was in trouble, reluctantly turned to see him standing next to the Lightwood’s UHAUL, “the fact that this truck’s hood’s up mean anything to you?”

Raphael stared at the ground, he couldn’t be any more uncomfortable, “Yeah.”

“What do you working on that’s so important you’re not doing your job?”

“Nothing,” the young man feebly tried to block Magnus from seeing the crib, but the older man already saw it and looked at him with dismay. “Found it under the bunch of stuff in the shed. Probably belonged to the previous owners. Ragnor never likes to throw things.”

Magnus considered Raphael, his eyes softened, “What are you doing?”

“What?”

“Raphe, darling, I appreciate what you are doing, what you are all doing for me, but I’m not anyone’s responsibility. I can take care of myself.”

Raphael looked away, face serious, “Look, I know it doesn’t make sense to you. It doesn’t make sense to me either, but it’s just something I need to do.”

Magnus sighed, he felt for the boy, “Raphe, we didn’t come back for you because we want someone to take care of us. We came back because we love you, you are our baby,” Raphael opened his mouth to say something, but Magnus beat him to it, “You see the diner’s sign up there?” he asked, pointing his fingers outside the bay, “We thought Ragnor was crazy for wanting to spend his inheritance to this place, middle of nowhere…but he knew this was what he was supposed to do. Told us to ‘just wait.’ Told us that when the freeway was finally running through here, this place is going to be a goldmine. But he was wrong. The highway never came, and now the only people who come here are the ones who are lost. That’s why we are convincing him to sell this place, and both of you move in with us.”

Magnus placed a hand on Raphael’s face, rubbing a cheek, “You’ve been cooped up in here for too long. It’s time for you to move from this place. Opportunities wait for you. We don’t want to see you wake up one morning, old and pissed realizing you’re lost just like everybody else who stops here,” he then patted his belly, “Give this little one something to look up to, big brother.”

Raphael looked at Magnus, his words hanging heavy. Magnus smiled gently at him and pinched his nose, playfully, “Now, get to work on that truck. Ragnor wants to have these people on the road by nightfall. I’ll send Sheldon to help you.”

“It’s Simon.”

“Whatever.”

Magnus walked back to the diner when he noticed something off in the distance, ominous dark clouds lined the horizon to the south like a living wall. He shifted his gaze up the highway to the north – the same thing. Dark clouds were pushing their way over the distant mountains. A storm was coming.

He re-entered the diner and found the blonde guy sat at the counter, digging into a plate of banana pancakes. Clary stood beside him, smiling, obviously swooning. The ginger head teenager saw him entered, beelined for him, beaming, to coo and rubbed at his belly.

“His name is Jace,” she whispered excitedly, eyes twinkling.

“Mmhmm.” He replied and patted her head. Magnus turned to look for the bestie and found him at the farthest booth, sitting and chatting with the youngest Lightwood. He was talking a mile a minute and was possibly just jabbering nonsensically, but the young woman was just looking at him with an amused smile. The girl had spunk, but she was nice. Magnus liked her already. He approached the table and smiled at Isabelle then turned his attention to the bespectacled, sandy brown-haired youth, “Sheldon, be a dear and help Raphael, will you?”

“It’s Simon,” the teenager whined, then turned to Isabelle and grinned, “Talk to you later, Izzy.”

Izzy, huh. Isabelle just laughed, smitten. Ah, young love.

Magnus was about to address the blonde, Jace, according to Clary, when something else stole his attention: the tv went on the fritz again. The image on it now was mostly snow, and Ragnor was back on the chair, whacking the old tv…again.

“What’s wrong with you today?” Ragnor asked, gave another whack, the image flickered but didn’t improve.

“I told you to get the satellite tv, but you don’t want to listen,” Catarina remarked from the grill.

“What do I need that crap for?” Ragnor shot.

“History Channel!” Cat shot back.

“I got all the history I can take,” Ragnor huffed, turned his attention back to the tv to gave it one final wallop. The picture snapped into focus, only it wasn’t the picture he was expecting. The stark graphic of an emergency broadcasting system accompanied by its hollow tone filled the diner. Everybody in the place stopped and turned to the tv, “See? Clear as day,” Ragnor said a little proudly.

“Nice work, Rag. What the hell’s that?” Cat asked with an eyebrow raised.

“It’s just one of those test things,” Ragnor answered. That’d be true, except the words at the bottom of the screen that said: _This is not a test._ Ragnor turned the dial, and all stations were the same.

“Doesn’t look like a test,” Magnus remarked.

Ragnor stepped off the chair and backed away slowly from the tv as if the little distance would bring some clarity and bumped into the blonde bad boy. “Yo, Pops,” Jace called, “do you have a phone or not?” he peeled a five-dollar bill out of a serious wad of cash.

Ragnor snapped the money out of his hand, “In the back, past the kitchen,” he directed. Jace hustled passed Catarina.

Magnus was standing by the Lightwood’s table, clearing dishes together with Clary. Everybody’s eyes were on TV.

“If there’s a real emergency, aren’t they supposed to give us some information on what to do?” Maryse asked everyone.

“I’m sure it’s a mistake,” Robert said, comforting his wife.

“Hey, Cat,” Ragnor called, “give that old radio a shot. Maybe they got some news on TV.”

Catarina grabbed an old battery-powered radio off a kitchen shelf and switched it on – nothing but static. She spun the dial until she reached a clear signal, but the same hollow tone of emergency broadcasting, stations after stations were all the same. The diner was overwhelmed by a chilling chorus of dull tones. Everybody went still.

“Maybe there was an earthquake?” Robert wondered, everyone looked at him, “They keep saying we're overdue for a big one,” he supplied.

“Lots of folks could be hurt,” Cat worried.

“Not if it was centered in the desert,” Ragnor countered.

“Exactly,” Robert supported, “Could be nothing to worry about,” he shrugged.

“So, then why’s the tv’s out?” Maryse insisted.

“Maybe it just hit the relay stations. Aren’t those usually in remote areas?”

“Yes, ‘cause of radiation they give off,” Ragnor confirmed.

“There ain't no radiation coming off those things. Plus, that doesn’t explain the radio being out too. Some of those stations broadcast over hundreds of miles. Any quake that big and we would feel it,” Cat pointed out.

“Cat’s right. I didn’t feel nothing,” Magnus backed up.

“Maybe it’s a terrorist attack or something?” Izzy supplied unhelpfully. Maryse covered her mouth, “Oh, god.” Everyone grimly considered the possibility.

But Ragnor had enough, “Well, for crying out loud. There’s no use speculating. I’ll just call some folks in Needles. They must have heard something -”.

“I didn’t think so,” Jace, who was coming from the kitchen interjected.

“What are you talking about?”

“Phone’s dead. Just tried to make a call.”

“You’re shitting me.”

Jace shook his head and sat down at the counter.

“Oh, this is just great,” moaned Maryse, deflated.

“Relax, Mrs. Lightwood. Nothing to get excited about. They probably just working the lines. Besides, I’m sure my boys will have your truck fixed up quick as can be, and then you’ll be on your way,” Ragnor tried to cheer the upset woman.

Raphael was buried under the UHAUL’s hood, working at something with a socket wrench. Simon was at the workbench handing him tools. Everything was not going well.

“Dammit.” Raphael cursed and pulled himself up, grease covering his face and hands.

Simon handed him a towel, “How was it?” he asked. The other teen grimaced as a response. “That bad, huh?”

The sound of approaching car caught their attention, sure was a busy day today, and watched as a beat-up eighties Cutlass Supreme pulled off the highway and rolled to a stop at the pumps. Both wondered how anyone could see through a layer of dust that caked the windshield.

After a moment of just stopping there, the car door popped open, and the legs of an elderly woman swung down on the ground, followed by a metal frame and wheels of a walker. A little old lady wearing a light grey skirt and a pink sweater got out of the car, steadied herself on the walker then slowly made her way toward the diner with rickety frailness of an old turtle.

Both watched her disappear inside. A cold shiver ran through their spine, and they looked at each other with something akin to dread.

On the horizon, the walls of dark clouds were growing ever closer.

A jingle was heard when the old lady entered the diner. She surveyed the scene as if she was feasting on paradise, or could be her eyes weren’t so good. Magnus greeted the new customer with a smile, “Have a seat wherever you want, ma’am. Specials are on the board,” he chirped.

“Thank you, dear,” the old lady pleasantly replied and settled at a table across from the Lightwoods and smiled at the couple warmly. Out of courtesy, Magnus approached the old lady with a menu on his hand and was about to hand it when she said, “Oh, I already know what I want.”

“Okay,” Magnus smiled, “what it’ll be?”

“I’ll have the steak, please,” she ordered.

“And how would you like that cooked?”

“Rare, if you would. And water, no ice.”

“Coming right up,” Magnus said and turned when the old lady called his name.

“Magnus, is it?” she asked. Magnus nodded. “What an unusual name,” she commented.

“So they say,” Magnus chuckled, “I’ll be right back with your water.”

When Magnus left, the old woman turned to the Lightwoods and introduced herself, “Hello, I’m Gladys. Gladys Foster.”

“Nice to meet you, Gladys,” Maryse smiled, “I’m Maryse,” she said and then patted her husband’s arm, “and this is my husband, Robert.”

“What a nice young couple you are,” Gladys complimented then asked, “What brings you to these parts?”

“We’re moving out to Scottsdale. But our truck broke down, and so we’re stuck here while it's being fixed,” Maryse informed politely.

“Oh, what a nuisance,” Gladys said. A fly buzzed around her head, but she didn’t seem to notice it.

“Say, Gladys, it seems the lines are down around here. The phone and the tv, you know? I'm just wondering if you might have heard something on your way up? You know, about what’s going on?” Maryse asked.

Gladys gave a strange smile, “Oh, don’t worry yourself about that, sweetheart. It’ll all be over soon,” she replied.

Maryse nodded at the old lady, unsure of what to make of her response. The fly that was circling the old lady’s head landed on her face, it crawled on her cheek, but the old woman wasn’t reacting to it. Maryse and Robert exchanged looks. Creepy.

The diner door jingled once more when Raphael walked in, followed by Simon. They headed straight to Ragnor for a quiet huddle. All the while, both teens kept one eye on the old woman sitting at the table near the suburban couple. There was something off about the old lady that they couldn’t put their fingers on.

“The carburetor’s shot. Don’t know why. Looks brand new,” Raphael said quietly. Ragnor glanced at the Lightwoods, “They are going to be pissed.”

“We could try to rebuild it, but it’d take a while, and I don’t think we have all the parts. If we call right now, we might be able to get a new one down here tomorrow morning,” suggested Simon, hoping for a longer time with Izzy.

“That’s not going to happen,” Ragnor said, brows furrowed, “the sodding phone’s out.”

“What?”

Across the diner, Magnus placed a bloody red steak in front of Gladys. “Thank you, dear,” she said, then, “How far along are you?”

Magnus rested a hand on his belly and smiled softly, “Just about there,” he answered.

“The father must be proud.”

Magnus shrugged, “I wouldn’t know.”

“Oh, you mean he’s-“

“Out of sight. Out of mind,” Magnus cut off flippantly.

“I see. So, you’re not married, I take it?”

Magnus frowned a little at that but answered anyway, he was used to people asking questions, “Nope.” A fly landed on Gladys steak, he tried to wave it away, but another one landed in its place.

“That’s too bad,” the old lady commented.

Magnus was getting uncomfortable with the conversation but still tried to be polite, “No, I prefer it that way,” he answered, “I don’t need anyone telling me what to do.”

“But what about the baby?”

“I got it under control,” Magnus replied tightly.

“Yeah, but it’s gonna burn,” Gladys said without preamble and took a bite out of her steak, red juice dripping from her lips to her chin as she chewed.

Magnus froze. Everybody turned to look at them.

“What did you just say?” Magnus demanded glowering.

“I said your fucking baby’s gonna burn,” Gladys said, all smiles.

Magnus shook his head at the old woman, not giving in, “Go to hell, lady.” He slammed the check down on the table and walked back toward the kitchen, passing Ragnor and the two young men. Cat and Clary went to comfort him, all the while shooting daggers at the crazy old woman.

“What happened?” Ragnor asked, pissed.

“Fucking old bag,” Magnus muttered as tears pulled in his eyes.

Everyone turned to Gladys as she began to laugh innocently and continued to devour her meat. More red juice dripped down her chin. The flies were swarming around her now. _Where did they come from?_ Robert and Maryse were mortified at this sudden turn of events.

“All those babies. They’re gonna burn.” More laughter.

“Gladys, please. There’s no reason to-“ Maryse attempted to chastise the old woman, but Gladys interrupted her. “Shut up, you stupid fucking cunt!” the old lady shouted obscenely, demeanor suddenly turned menacing, “All you do is complain! Complain! Complain!”

Maryse gasped in shock. Everybody stopped moving and was now focused on the old lady. Robert got up from the booth, ready to defend his wife. “Robert, it’s okay! Don’t listen to her,” Maryse tried to stop her husband.

But Robert was already standing over the old woman, “Who the hell do you think you are!?” he asked angrily then he leaned over the table, “I would like you to apologize to my-“

But before Robert could finish his sentence, the old lady lunged at him and took a large bite out of his neck. The old lady pulled back to reveal a mouth filled with tiny, razor-sharp teeth. Everybody freaked out as Robert crumpled to the floor. Magnus pulled Clary behind him and Catarina when Gladys rocketed to her feet, knocking her table over. Blood covered her face and chest.

“You’re all going to fucking die!” the old lady screeched.

Catarina was the first to react. From behind the counter, she whipped a heavy metal frying pan boosted with adrenaline at Gladys’ head that knocked the old woman’s head sideways. They heard and saw, bones broke and busted from her neck! Impossibly, the old lady was still standing.

Gladys let out an inhuman scream and scrambled across the diner, knocking tables and chairs in her wake.

Ragnor quickly pulled a shotgun from behind the counter, “Don’t move!” he yelled and cocked the gun. But the old lady didn’t only move, she scurried right up the ceiling – upside down.

Ragnor pumped the shotgun, trying to take the old woman down, but he couldn’t track her fast enough. Instead, he blew enormous holes in the ceiling, creating a rain of plaster and a cloud of dust. The old lady dropped right in front of him, “Fuck!” he cursed as he struggled to cock the gun.

The old woman smiled sweetly before slapping Ragnor clear across the room. The shotgun clattered to the floor at Raphael’s feet. He snatched it up and aimed it at the old lady who turned calmly to face him.

“Shoot her, Raphe!” Cat yelled.

Raphael was about to fire when the old lady’s eyes went all white, a sickly-sweet smile on her face, “You’ll never save him.”

Raphael froze, stunned by the words, overwhelming fear paralyzing him where he stood. Simon grabbed a heavy metal pot when he saw the other teen froze and posed a strike, “Shoot the fucking bitch!” he yelled, shaking.

The old lady rocketed at them, but Raphael was too afraid to move. He clamped his eyes shut and braced himself for the end. But none came.

A firing gun echoed in the diner as a rain of bullets ripped into the old lady’s body, taking her down like an animal. Raphael slowly opened his eyes, shotgun still cocked. The old lady laid dead in a smoldering, bloody heap at their feet. Everybody turned to see Jace with smoke rising from the barrel of his silver-plated western arms .45, hands shaking. If they weren’t so shocked, they would wonder why the kid was packing so much heat.


	4. Part IV

**Part IV**

The shock was ended by Maryse’s desperate cry, “Somebody! Help me!” she was on the floor with her husband, blood poured freely from the torn neck.

Catarina rushed to help, “Put your hands over the hole!” she instructed, but Maryse looked at her fearfully, “Don’t look at me like that, lady! I’m a nurse! I’m trying to help you. Now, put your goddamn hands over the hole before your husband bleeds to death!”

Maryse obeyed and cupped her hands over the hole on Robert’s neck, desperately trying to stop the flow of blood leaking out between her fingers. Cat scrambled over with a first-aid kit, and together she and Jace got to work on Robert’s neck.

A few feet away, Magnus held Clary against him, his belly pressed firmly between them, “Don’t look, biscuit,” he whispered, rubbing at her back to stop her shaking. Across from them, Raphael and Simon helped Ragnor, bruised and bleeding, to his feet.

“The fuck was that!? What the fuck was that!?” Simon yelled, shocked, his trembling hands still gripped the metal pot.

At the other end of the diner, Izzy was pushed back into a booth, her knees pulled tightly to her chest, shivering. Her adult façade gave way to that of a frightened child. A drop of red hit her cheek, and she looked up to see a trail of the old lady’s blood dripping from the ceiling in an ungodly horror.

Cat, Jace, Maryse, and Izzy frantically carried Robert out of the diner into the back of Jace’s Escalade. Robert was in the backseat, Maryse by his side, clasping his hand in hers and Izzy by his feet. Catarina rode shotgun. Jace momentarily struggled to get the key in the ignition, after a few tries, the engine roared to life, and they fishtailed into the highway.

Jace gripped the wheel even tighter, picking up speed, “How far to the hospital?”

“Seventy, maybe eighty miles,” Cat answered. Jace shot her a look. _Eighty miles!?_ He put his feet to the pedal and edged the car to drive faster.

Izzy spotting something up the road, leaned forward from the backseat, “What’s that on the road?” she said, pointing a finger.

Up ahead, the dark clouds Magnus spotted earlier had finally closed in, descending onto the highway like a wall.

“They’re fucking clouds! What the fuck do they look like?!” Jace impolitely answered.

“Not clouds! Clouds don’t buzz!”

Izzy was right, clouds didn’t buzz. Suddenly, hundreds of tiny bugs began to hit the windshield and made splatting sounds – it was then they realized it wasn’t cloud. They were flies.

The Escalade entered the swarm. The car was pummeled by insects, the windshield instantly covered in black and red bug guts. They were driving blind, the sound of flies splattering and buzzing was deafening. Everyone was screaming as the hellish creatures surrounded them.

Back in the diner, Ragnor was hunched over the steaming sink, nursing a can of beer on his head. Raphael and Simon were leaning against the bathroom wall, looking like they were about to faint. Simon went to the nearest toilet and hurled, heaving dry.

“I don’t understand how she was still standing after Catarina hit her with that damn frying pan. It broke her fucking neck. I saw it. I swear, I did!” Ragnor exclaimed in both wonderment and fear.

“And did you see that kid’s – Jace’s gun? The hell he was doing with a gun like that?” Simon supplied, in between dry heaving.

“I couldn’t pull the trigger. I froze. I know what I needed to do, but I was afraid,” Raphael said bitterly, “She could’ve killed you! Or Magnus and the baby! Anyone-“

Ragnor rested a comforting hand on the teen’s shoulder, cutting him off, “There’s nothing to be ashamed of Raphe. Not everybody can play the hero.”

Before Raphael could respond, the front door jingled and hurriedly left the bathroom to see Cat, Jace, Maryse, and Izzy carried Robert into the diner. All of them stumbling and gasping for air. Magnus and Clary moved in to help, and Cat raced for the back office.

Ragnor caught Cat’s arm, “Where are you going?”

“To get the bible!” Cat answered, eyes wide.

“The hell do you need that for?”

Catarina was about to respond when they heard the buzzing. Ragnor, Magnus, and Raphael slowly approached the window to see the stable, undulating black curtain of flies surrounding the truck stop’s perimeter a few hundred yards out. Everything in the diner was suddenly cast in dark red as the day’s remaining sunlight filtered through the swarm, like a scene from an apocalyptic movie. No one dared to breathe.

Cat tore open Robert’s shirt with red-stained hands, revealing a bloody mess of muscles and tendons chewed down to the bone. They were all huddled inside the diner, Clary was preparing steaming pots of water, Catarina and Magnus were tending to Robert, Maryse was holding her husband’s hand, trying to comfort him. At the same time, Izzy watched with grim fascination by her side.

Cat raised a bottle of alcohol, “Okay, hold him steady.”

Magnus nodded, a bit peakish, “Oh, god, please don’t throw up.”

Robert writhed as Cat poured alcohol on the wound. Maryse couldn’t help but look at Catarina’s blood-stained hands.

Meanwhile, across the diner, Ragnor and Raphael peeled back the table cloth to examine the old lady’s bullet-riddled corpse. Jace stood over them with Ragnor’s shotgun aiming at the body, Simon beside him with a heavy metal pot – just in case. The old woman was a real horror show, bones jutted out at obtuse angles from her neck, a result of the blow to her neck from Cat’s frying pan.

“She’s cold as an ice cube. If I hadn’t just seen her walk in here, I’d say the old bag’s been for hours,” Ragnor grunted as he rolled the old lady’s corpse over, exposing her face – enlarge mouth filled with dozens of razor-sharp baby teeth.

“Well, I don’t care how long she’s been dead, the bitch ain’t staying in here with us,” Jace said in disgust. Simon agreed enthusiastically, “Good idea.”

The three of them quickly dragged the old lady’s body wrapped in the plastic table cloth a little way from the diner. Simon came after, the metal pot still in his hand. They warily eyed the curtain of flies no more than a hundred yards out.

“I don’t get it. Why don’t the clouds come closer?” Simon wondered.

“How the fuck do we suppose to know? There’s no one here who can explain the behavior of fucking pestilence,” answered Raphael, breathing heavily. A clanking sound made him noticed the old woman’s car keys had dropped to the ground. “You guys!” he held up the keys.

They quickly approached the old lady’s Cutlass Supreme. The windows were completely caked with dust. The men wiped away a layer of brown from the glass and peered inside the car.

“You see anything?” Ragnor asked, dreading.

“No twilight zone shit if that’s what you mean,” Simon answered.

Raphael slipped the key into the driver’s side door and unlocked it. “Careful,” Jace cautioned, “Grandma could have some kind of rabid poodle locked up in there.” Raphael nodded and slowly swung the door open, and they instantly regretted it as a sharp smell hit them. “Ugh! The fuck is that!?” Jace yelled, the sleeve of his black leather jacket covering his nose.

“Jesus!” Ragnor exclaimed. Simon gagged beside him.

Covering his nose, Rapahel opened the passenger door and looked in, the inside of the car was dark and dirty but nothing unusual, “Nothing here. How about the trunk?”

They went around to the back of the car, and Rapahel slipped the key in. The trunk popped open, revealing a pile of rotting and maggot-infested dead cats. Ragnor quickly slammed the trunk closed, they were all reeling with disgust. Jace was trying to blow the stench from his nose, Raphael and Ragnor were gagging while Simon looked green.

In his peripheral, Jace saw something up the road and called their attention, “Hey!” he said, pointing ahead. They turned and saw headlights growing more substantial in the dim haze. A police cruiser careened off the highway and skidded to a wild stop in front of the diner. The car’s engine rattled as the dust cleared around it; behind it, the dark clouds ominously hovered, unmoving from a distance.

“Okay, now we’re talking!” Simon said excitedly.

“Wait a minute,” Raphael said, “Check it out. It’s LAPD. What’s an LA cop doing way out here?” Jace frowned when they all looked at him, “I’m from Vegas, man.”

They considered the police car a moment more, the shattered windows, and the bloodstains. Jace tightened his hold on the shotgun.

Inside the diner, Magnus peered through the window, and his face lighted up when he saw the police car, “Oh, thank god!” he said and raced outside.

The door of the police car opened as Magnus ran from the diner, one hand under his belly. The four men outside saw him moving toward the police car, their face went slack, “Magnus, wait!” they called as they ran toward him while out of the cruiser stepped Alexander.

Magnus froze a few feet from the car when he saw those piercing blue eyes, he inwardly winced when his child gave his inside a sharp kick. Alexander looked at him, taking in all his features, the only reason he came way out to the barren sands. Alexander took a step closer, but Ragnor, Jace, Simon, and Raphael had already formed a protective shield around Magnus. Jace raised the shotgun, “One step closer and I’ll drop you right here,” he warned.

Alexander considered Jace in a long icy beat, “Is that how you greet all you meet?” he asked.

“Mister, after what we’ve been through here today, you’re lucky we didn’t shoot you first and greet you later,” Ragnor answered, eyeing the newcomer, “Now, let us see your teeth.”

Alexander stared at them with a blank face.

“Your teeth dammit!” Ragnor was on edge, “Let us see them.”

Alexander offered a dangerous smile, showing a regular set of teeth. Ragnor and the others eased slightly. “No shark teeth,” Raphael exhaled.

Ragnor motioned to Jace to lower the shotgun, “Okay…how about your name then?”

“Alexander.”

“Sorry about all that, Alec,” Ragnor said, then raised an eyebrow when everyone looked at him, “What? His name’s a mouthful,” he snapped. Alexander nodded, accepting the shortened version of his name. “Anyway, this old lady just went crazy inside my place here,” Ragnor continued, “She had these teeth. Practically bit a man in half.”

Alec remained quiet; he was not shocked by what he heard.

“So, what are you doing out here?” Raphael asked, eyeing him distrustfully, “I gotta say you don’t look exactly like a police officer.”

“Yeah, he’s right. Even if you’re from LA. Then again, you have to be, right? I mean, who the hell would be crazy enough to steal a cop car?” Simon babbled. He chuckled for a moment, but when the newcomer didn’t respond, he fell silent. The group grew anxious again, Jace raised the shotgun. Simon, his metal pot.

Alec sized up the raggedy group, his eyes lingering on Magnus, then his gaze drifted over to the loosely wrapped body in front of the diner. The plastic table cloth flapped wildly in the wind and then turned back to them, “You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” Jace asked gruffly.

“We don’t know anything. Nothing is working here, the tv, the radio, the phone…” Raphael informed.

Alec just shook his head, “I’m running out of time,” he said and stepped toward Magnus purposely, but Jace blocked his path.

“Back off, man,” Jace warned, brandishing the shotgun. “I don’t care if it’s the end of the world, I say it’s time for you to either get talking or get the hell out!”

In a blur, Alec ripped the shotgun from Jace’s hands. It all happened so fast that Jace was stunned to find himself holding air. He was even more stunned to have the barrel of the gun pressed to the bridge of his nose. Everyone stilled, stunned.

“Easy, easy,” Ragnor said, trying to calm the situation.

Alec’s expression was totally calm and merciless as he regarded the blonde young man. “Come on, Jace. Tell him you’re sorry.” Simon pleaded.

“Let him go!” shouted Magnus, glowering, despite the situation. Alec’s eyes flitted in Magnus’ direction, contemplating.

Then the diner door opened, Catarina stepped cautiously out with hands held up to show no threat, “By the Angel, Magnus,” she gasped, worried about her friend. By the way, her friend’s shoulder tensed; she knew Magnus was looking at the man with anything but friendly. Catarina was followed by the Lightwood women and Clary. Alec saw them but gave no indication that he cared.

“Jace!”

“Now, Alec,” Ragnor called placatingly, “I’m sure you don’t want to go spilling blood for no good reason in front of the mama-to-be, do you?” Magnus glared at him, but Ragnor ignored his friend, he saw the way the man called Alec was looking at his pregnant friend, and he was going to use it to their advantage. “Our boy here ain’t worth the trouble it would cause you. So, what do you say about letting him go, and then you can be on your way? Nice and easy.”

But Alec looked like the plea just passed from ear to another. Everything was not looking bad; it was getting worse. No one moved an inch as they waited for him to let go of Jace, and that’s when they noticed something out in the direction of the road – dozens of tiny headlights appearing in the dark haze, approaching.

“What the-“

Alec turned and saw the lights, “They’re here,” he said. He whipped the gun away from Jace’s head and thrust it back into his hands, “You’re going to need this.” Jace looked down at the weapon, speechless.

“You all are going to need these,” Alec addressed them all, then swiftly walked around to the trunk of the cruiser and popped it open to reveal an astounding arsenal of weaponry and began to load gun after gun.

“Angels have mercy,” Cat exclaimed as she stared out at the weapons, wide-eyed. She waved Clary and the Lightwoods back inside.

“What is it?” Maryse asked confusedly as she took in everything that was happening, “What is happening? Why’s he driving a police car?”

“Shut up, Mom!” Izzy snapped, pulling her mother back to the diner.

Alec handed an MP5 sub-machine to Jace. Another one went to Ragnor then to Raphael. He looked at Simon’s pot, “That’s not going to help you,” he said then handed him one. Simon looked ill.

“Wait,” Ragnor protested, “I don’t think, handing them guns is such a good idea.”

“I-I can h-handle it,” Simon stuttered.

Magnus stepped passed the men, clearly pissed and stood head-to-collarbone with Alec, he looked up and glared, “They are kids,” he said, ‘mother henning’ the boys.

“We can handle it,” Raphael tried but closed his mouth when Magnus narrowed his eyes at him.

Alec’s brow furrowed, lips pursing as he studied the young men, “They can handle it. They don’t have a choice. From this moment, they are children no more,” he said resolutely. Magnus was not happy and continued to shoot daggers at Alec. The other men were getting worried, but Alec just played it coolly, he was soaking up Magnus’ attention.

Alec was armed to the teeth, he looked momentarily at Magnus then pulled a twin MP5 for himself. Glock 9s were strapped on him everywhere they could go. He then tossed clip belts and boxes of shotgun shells to the men, “If you want to live, you’ll do exactly as I say,” he ordered and slammed the trunk closed.

Alec turned his full attention on Magnus, cocked a gun, and handed it to him. Magnus looked at the weapon then at him, unimpressed. Alec ignored it. “When you fire, you keep your thumbs off the slide. Don’t hesitate,” he instructed. Magnus huffed then turned up his nose. Alec stared at Magnus, from his face to his belly, then back to his face, protectiveness coloring his face. “Don’t do anything brave or stupid,” Alec said, pointedly looking at Magnus.

“Like what? Sleep with a total stranger?” Magnus mocked.

Magnus gasped when he was pulled against a hard chest and lifted off the ground. His protests were muffled as Alec marched into the diner. Jace glanced quickly at the others, “Fuck it,” he said, then bolted after Alec. The other three followed.

Out on the road, the headlights were growing brighter, closer.


	5. Part V

**Part V**

When everyone was inside the diner, a deadbolt was thrown, locking the diner door. The inside of Paradise Falls filled with the sounds of frantic activity, Jace and Alec pushed a booth in front of the door, sealing off the entrance. Tables were turned on their sides to form makeshift shields, and window blinds were snapped closed. Raphael and Simon were in the back office locking the back door, then they pushed a desk in front of it to fortified it, and then they raced back to the front to join the others.

The place was now transformed, locked uptight. The roars of engines outside ever louder and closer. Magnus and Cat, together with Clary, were behind the counter. Maryse huddled on the floor with Robert, his head on her lap. She was running her hand on his hair, trying to keep calm. Izzy at their side, trying to look brave.

Robert opened his eyes, pale and weak from blood loss, “Maryse? What’s happening?” he asked weakly.

“It’s okay,” Maryse tried to reassure, “everything’s okay,” she closed her eyes, struggling to believe it. A tear ran down her cheek.

The room was unexpectedly dipped into darkness when the electricity suddenly went out, cries of alarm filled the total darkness. “Raphael! Get the flashlights!” yelled Ragnor among the chaos, “Everybody, stay still!”

“Now that we’re locked in here, what the fuck are we supposed to do?” asked Jace in the dark. Then there was a flicker of light, and then flashlight beam cut through the darkness and rested on Alec’s pale face. Alec was looking at the direction of the counter, listened to the faint sounds coming from Magnus’ spot before he looked up the ceiling, “Up there.”

The hatch opened to the roof of the diner, Alec came out followed by Jace, Simon, and Ragnor and quickly took their places behind the ‘Paradise’ sign. Pitch black surrounded them, the rumble of engines was gone, only the rush of the wind coming up off the desert was left.

“Where the hell did they go?” Jace asked, looking futilely in the darkness.

“Alright, G.I. Joe,” Ragnor turned to Alec sharply, “You got us up here. Now, would you mind explaining what the fuck we're fighting?”

Alec was about to answer when Simon interrupted them, “Listen!” Over the wind, the sound became audible, it was a delicate charm of a calliope. “You hear what I’m hearing?”

“Yeah,” Ragnor confirmed, then, “What’s that?”

The calliope music grew louder, and the melody more distinct. Then, most of them realized it was a jingle from a popular dairy product. But instead of filling them with cheer, it choked them with fear.

“It sounds like…” Jace started.

“Ice-cream,” Simon finished.

Two headlights appeared in the darkness, and sure enough, an ice-cream truck rolled slowly toward the diner. The eerie calliope music emanated from a speaker on its roof. The dark made it impossible to see who was behind the wheel.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” muttered Jace lowly.

“Alright. There’s a safety switch on the side of your guns. Push it all the way down. Two clicks,” Alec ordered. The men quickly did as they were told. “Now when this starts, you hold on tight, you hear me? If you don’t, you’re going to blow your hands off. Understand?”

The three men traded quick, anxious looks then nodded. They just met the bastard who was commanding them like fucking soldiers, but they did trust him, they didn’t know why. They just did.

Down in the diner, Raphael faced the boarded-up front door, awkwardly holding the gun as he tried to assume a tough, grown-up posture. If only he could stop shaking, it would be believable. Magnus and Clary peered between the slats covering the windows. On the floor were the Lightwoods.

Magnus held Clary away from the windows when the ice-cream truck’s headlights fanned out across the diner. He stopped beside Raphael, sensing him shaking, and rested a hand on his arm. It seemed to help a little.

On the floor, Robert Lightwood smiled weakly at the familiar sound of the calliope, “Izzy, honey,” he said, “Listen, it’s the ice-cream man.” Izzy smiled tearfully and wiped the sweat from her father’s forehead with the wet towel handed to her by Cat.

The ice-cream rolled to a stop with its headlights facing the diner, everyone aimed their guns at the truck, tensed.

A dark, bloody shoe stepped to the ground from the ice-cream truck, moving up the long grey pant leg spotted with blood stains was a skeletally thin man in tattered coveralls.

The man looked like he had been through hell as he stepped into the beams of the headlights, his features more prominent – he was tall – too tall, his clothes didn’t seem to fit him, and the ice-cream man was unnaturally thin as if he had been stretched as a taffy. If the man got on all fours, he could be mistaken for some kind of spider.

They looked at the ice-cream man as it surveyed the diner, the garage, the roof, assessing the situation. The group waited for something to happen. “He didn’t look that bad,” Simon whispered quietly. The ice-cream man’s gaze snapped up to the roof, to them. He had heard. SHIT. SHIT. SHIT.

The ice-cream man’s jaw unhinged, stretching torturously down to nearly the middle of his chest, row after row of razor-sharp teeth formed with the sickening sound of cracking bones. From its new mouth, let out a shattering howl. Everyone except Alec was hyperventilating with fear.

“Get ready,” Alec commanded.

The ice-cream man bolted for the diner with startling speed, his movements were not all those of a normal man but rather like some variety of human bug. Alec aimed, and bullets ripped into the creature’s body, knocking it flat on its back, arms and legs in a twisted, twitching mess, but Alec kept his aim, waiting. The calliope music continued to play eerily in the background.

“Is that it?” Jace asked, almost disappointed.

But it was far from over, not even close. Rumble of engines could be heard, and headlights were growing bigger – a freeway full of vehicles of every variety punched through the wall of dust, racing toward the diner.

“Now! Shoot now!” Alec ordered. The men let loose with ferocious firepower; windows shattered, tires blew out, and engines exploded. Vehicles swerved and collided, dark shapes bolted from the burning cars, scattering.

Business people, construction workers, and even an entire NFL football team, all deformed by some unknown force, many were mere balls of fire drifting through the night.

“Spread them out!” Alec’s voice rang through the dark, “Don’t let them get close to the windows!”

The dark shapes converged on the diner from all directions. They moved strangely, so fast it seemed that their feet didn’t actually touch the ground. From the diner’s roof, it was a full-on turkey shoot as the men followed Alec’s instructions and cut down everything in sight.

Their faces lighting up with each flash, shell casing spewed from their weapon like water drops from a sprinkler while bodies burst and crumbled to the dirt, but the creatures didn’t seem to be afraid of dying. Their strategy appeared to be in numbers; with each wave, the dark figures got ever closer to the diner.

Jace was firing madly, click after click bullets rained down on his feet, then his firearm fired no more, he was out of ammo, “Shells!” he yelled. Ragnor tossed him a box of shells, but Jace fumbled the catch, and the box slid halfway down the sloped roof, “Shit!” With the gun still, on the one hand, Jace reached frantically down for the ammo.

Stretching, a little way further, a hideously wounded middle-aged housewife catapulted up from below the roofline, her hair must have been in curlers before most of it was burned away. Her nightwear hanged in tattered off her body, and her jaw clicked rapidly as she clattered up at Jace like a giant insect. Jace tried to pull back, but he had no traction, and he started to slip toward her.

She was coming fast, but Simon saw the blond in trouble, “Jace!” he yelled. Jace swung the shotgun like a club, knocking the bitch clear off the roof. But the move had made him slide even faster, he dropped the gun, trying to hold on, but couldn’t stop. Jace was about to the edge when the horrid woman popped right in front of him. She didn’t even have a chance to react as Jace did something akin to a swimmer’s push right off her body. The creature went flying back off the roof, and the opposing force halted Jace’s slide.

“Grab my hand!” Simon extended his arm. Jace reached up and clasped Simon’s hand, praying that the other teen was strong enough. But the woman wasn’t finished yet, and up she came once more, her razor-sharp fingernails clawed up the metal roof and made a screeching sound.

“Gun!”

Simon tossed Jace a Glock, fortunately, this time, he had deftly caught it with his free hand just as the deranged woman pounced on him, Jace jammed a gun in her mouth and clicked, “Fuck off!”

The back of the woman’s head exploded, and her body went limp, dropping in a heap. Jace struggled to push the corpse off of him, “Pull me up!” Simon extended his other arm, helping the other ascend to safety.

Huddled in the shadows, the people inside the diner listened to the sounds of war happening outside. Maryse squeezed her hands over her ears, Izzy clutched a butcher’s knife. Cat and Magnus were crouched down behind the counter, Clary squeezed between them. Magnus was holding the gun close to his pregnant belly. Raphael’s eyes darted from one window to another.

All were trying to keep it together as a distant explosion rattled the plates on the shelves. Magnus peered out from behind the counter to look at the front windows, momentary flashes of intense light outlined the closed blinds. Another flash lighted up Magnus’ face, and his eyes went wide at the sound of shattering of a window.

A dark shape crashed through the window, swirling in glass and dust. From where the Lightwoods were huddled, the women screamed. Magnus sprung from their hiding place, gun at a ready, Cat, and Clary tried to hold him back.

Raphael spun around, pointing his gun as he searched frantically for the intruder, “Where is it!?” It was so dark.

Izzy shook her head, tears streaming down her cheek, and looked over at her mother. Maryse’s eyes were closed. “Mom! Open your eyes!”

“I can’t! I can’t!” Maryse cried. It was too much. Suddenly, Robert’s body torn away from her. That got her to open her eyes, and she sprung after her husband, “Robert!”

Robert screamed horrendously as he was dragged rapidly through the diner toward the broken front window. He flailed desperately about trying to grab hold of something, anything. Maryse scrambled after her husband, reaching for him.

“Daddy!” Izzy cried as she scrambled to get to her father, too.

The creature reached the window, but Maryse dived for Robert’s outstretched hands, and the creature’s progress was abruptly halted at the shattered window. It turned back toward Maryse, with a shaft of light falling across its face revealed a teenage girl of about the age of their Isabelle. Her skin was a deathly pale, and her pupils were ghastly white. Deep human fingernail scratches had torn open the bloated flesh on her arms, neck, and face – the self-inflicted wounds of a drug addict. But her voice was not quite human, “See what you made me do, mother!?”

Maryse screamed at her but kept her hold, “No!”

Magnus and Izzy rushed to Maryse’s side and grabbed Robert’s arms. Raphael was right behind them, ready to fire, but with them, in the way, he couldn’t get a clear shot. So, he discarded the gun and grabbed the Lightwood’s patriarch’s arms.

Robert screamed as his body was torturously stretched in a human tug-of-war. On Robert’s feet, two more sets of sinewy muscle and bone claw reached through the window and grabbed his legs, his body lurched further out of the window.

Magnus daringly reached for Robert’s belt, desperate to gain leverage. Another disfigured hand punched through the blinds and locked onto Magnus’ arm, he screamed as he yanked painfully toward the window, losing his grip on Robert’s belt. Through the broken window, Magnus saw the face of a raggedy looking man, it smiled at him and sweetly said, “There you are!” and it started to pull his arm even harder. Other creatures noticed as well and focused their attack as if he was the sole target.

Raphael saw Magnus being pulled, immediately let go of the Lightwood man, and dived for Magnus, grabbing his arm before his pregnant friend was pulled through. But without the help, Maryse and Izzy couldn’t hold on any longer. Robert was ripped from his family’s hands and out of the window.

“Robert!”

“Daddy!”

The tide was turning it seemed, the men thought they have gotten their game on, and the dark shapes were starting to pull back.

“They’re running! We got them!” Simon exclaimed happily, like the child he was – a painful contrast to their situation, and he turned to Alec.

Gone.

The three looked around the roof with alarm.

Only a few more inches separated Magnus and certain death through the window, Raphael was losing him. Cat and Clary clambered out behind the counter to help their friends when something went passed them, then a flash of steel and a sickeningly sound of metal cutting flesh.

Magnus and Raphael fell back into the diner, the claw-like hand was still grasping Magnus’ arm no longer attached to their owners. Alec leaped over him, butcher knife in hand, machine gun in the other, and he lighted up everything in his path.

The window blinds became a wall of fire, creatures screeched, and fled into the night, having successfully taken their first victim. Raphael flung the severed arms off Magnus, Cat and Clary pulled them away from the window.

Magnus was visibly shaken; his arms were shaking, and his face pale. It barely registered when he was pulled against a body, calloused fingers gently assessing him for injuries.

A hysterical Maryse broke Magnus from his stupor, he stiffened in Alec’s arms. Maryse tried to push past them but was held back by Raphael before she could make it out. “Let me go!” He’s alive!” the older Lightwood woman slapped frantically at Raphael, the boy flinching from pain, but still carried the grief-stricken woman away from the window and thrust her down into a back booth. “He’s alive!” Maryse wailed.

“No. Not anymore,” Alec’s voice, cold as the wind, a stark contrast to the way he held Magnus, filled the diner with a void. Maryse broke down.


	6. Part VI

**Part VI**

“Are you hurt elsewhere?” Alec asked, voice gentle, cradling Magnus’ face in his palm.

Magnus’ eyes narrowed, with all the chaos that just happened, the tension between him and Alec went by unnoticed by the others. “Let go,” he hissed, trying not to alert the others as he struggled to broke free from Alec’s hold, but the man wouldn’t budge; he kept on holding him, looking at him. “Who do you think you are?” Magnus asked with tears were pooling in his eyes now, full of hurt.

Alec didn’t answer but relented his hold. Magnus quickly distanced himself. Then, after a beat, “I’m sorry,” Alec said, then stopped.

Magnus looked at him, eyebrow raised. “Continue.”

“I’m sorry. That’s the best I can do.”

“The best you can do,” Magnus repeated, unbelieving. “Well, guess what? Your best is not good enough!” That got almost everyone’s attention, they looked at them, wondering. “I don’t know what they taught you in school, but your best does not cut it here, okay? You seduced me! Knocked me up!” Magnus shouted angrily, face red and wet, “Then you skipped town to avoid child support!” That felt good, Magnus didn’t care if everybody in the world heard him.

“I didn’t mean to leave you and our child,” Alec said gently, arms reaching for Magnus.

Magnus scoffed; he was about to fold his arms above his belly when he stiffened and clutched at his stomach instead, wincing. Alec was instantly at his side to steady him, which was Magnus reluctantly thankful for, “I’m okay. We’re fine,” Magnus said, more to himself and tried to distance himself again.

Alec didn’t let go; instead, he wrapped his arms around Magnus and placed a large palm at the side of his pregnant belly, rubbing soothingly at the restless life inside. “I told you not to do anything brave,” Alec chastised gently.

Magnus was about to say something when Simon barged into the room, a smile on his face, “We got them running!” announced happily. He then noticed the broken window, Maryse and Izzy huddled at a corner, crying, no Robert Lightwood anywhere. Cat, Raphael, and Clary by the broken window clearing shattered glass and Alec and Magnus intimately close, his excitement died down and quickly replaced by dread. “What did we miss?” Jace and Ragnor followed in, still shaking from adrenaline.

No one responded.

Alec let go of Magnus but didn’t leave his side, “Someone needs to be in the roof,” he said.

“I’ll go,” Jace volunteered. Ragnor grabbed the young man’s arm.

“Hold on,” Ragnor said, approaching Alec with determined purpose, he filed the intimacy he noticed between his pregnant friend and the wannabe soldier, that was a discussion for later, for now, “You better start talking.”

All of them turned their eyes on Alec, they wanted answers. “The first time God lost faith in men He sent a flood,” Alec answered calmly, “the second time,” a paused, he looked at them, one by one, and then turned his head toward the front door, “He sent what you see outside.”

Everyone took that in for a moment, trying to swallow it like a bitter pill. The diner’s occupants were trying to wrap their minds at it; obviously, they didn’t want to believe it, but how could the things outside and Grandma earlier be explained?

“Are you saying this is the Apocalypse?” it was Catarina who broke the silence.

“I’m saying this is extermination,” Alec answered, straightforward, “Those things out there are vessels. The Possessed. The weakest willed are the easiest to turn.”

“Possessed by what? Demons?” Jace asked, frowning.

“No. By Angels.” Alec’s answer silenced the room once again.

“I don’t know what bible you’ve been reading, but in my version, the Angels are the good guys,” Raphael bravely contradicted, Alec felt respect for the kid.

They were all staring at Alec, unbelieving, but he looked back at the occupants squarely, “Your bible is wrong.” Everyone blanched.

“How come you know so much about them?” to their surprise, it was Maryse who asked.

“I know because, until last night, I was on their side.”

The diner’s occupants’ eyes widened. Magnus gasped and wrapped his arms around his belly, Alec sent him a long, drawn-out gaze.

“You mean you’re…” Clary started but stopped as Alec considered her.

“Not anymore.”

“Right,” Ragnor scoffed, “and yesterday I was the Easter Bunny. You know, forget it. I don’t even believe in God.”

“That’s fine because He doesn’t believe in you either,” Alec responded straight. Ragnor gawked at Alec, uncertain on how to respond to that.

“Come on, Ragnor,” Simon called to Ragnor, “you were with us outside. Those aren’t your regular customers out there.”

“How do we know he didn’t bring them here?” Ragnor, still not on board, tipped his chin in Alec’s direction.

“He brings them here, and then he saves us from them? Think of it, Rag,” Magnus gently pointed out at his long-time friend, a slight blush dusting his cheeks. Ragnor fell silent, confounded.

Izzy hesitantly approached Alec, “So you’re here to protect us?”

“Not you,” Alec looked at Magnus, “Him. Them.”

Okay, that was surely like a hard slap to the face, but it made sense. Of course, Alec and Magnus had a child together.

“Not only because it is our child. The child is the hope humanity has of surviving,”

Everyone looked from Alec to Magnus, to his belly. In response to that, Magnus did the only thing someone could do when told such a thing, “No way!” he laughed. This was all too much. He just found that the father of his child was an ex-Angel, but Alec wasn’t joking, and his laugh became a genuine fear.

“Jesus Christ!”

“Exactly”

Everyone stared at Magnus as if their entire lives were starting to make sense.

“Are you saying Magnus is the ‘Mother’ of the Savior?” Raphael dared asked, avoiding Magnus’ gaze.

“Wait a minute,” Simon interjected, “Isn’t Mary supposed to be a gi-“

“Shut up, Simon!” Clary glared at her bestie.

“Huh, makes you wonder about Mary,” Jace commented.

Magnus approached Alec, panic set in, “Look, this is not possible! I’m nobody! I’m just a bartender! I can’t give birth to the _Savior_ of men!” he paused, out of breath, then, “I don’t even have an apartment anymore!”

Alec looked at Magnus, gently but firmly, “None of that mattered anymore. Our child lives or mankind dies,” he said. Magnus looked at him, confused and helpless, but he saw determination behind. Alec stared back.

Jace addressed Alec, interrupting, “So what, Alec,” Jace asked, “are we supposed to just hold those things off until ‘ _Mary_ ’ over there squeezes one out?” he tipped his chin at Magnus.

“That’s right,” Alec nodded.

“That can’t be. I’m only in the eighth month,” Magnus said.

“Oh, we’re fucked!” Simon panicked, “We are so fucked!”

“How are we supposed to survive here for a month?” Maryse asked with a tremor in her voice.

“We don’t have to.”

At that, Magnus went white, realization hitting him like a bullet train, “It’s coming soon, isn’t it?” Alec nodded. Magnus swayed, but Alec reached and pulled him to his body, steadying him, comforting.

“If you want to live, you’ll do what I say,” Alec addressed them over Magnus’ head, “The first attack was a test of our strength. The next one will be a test of our weakness. Something worse is on its way.”

Everyone exchanged terrified looks. Alec felt Magnus’ arms tightened over his belly. Without thinking, Alec put his palms on each side of the stomach and rubbed them in circles, giving Magnus some comfort.

Jace stepped forward, looking at the couple momentarily. He couldn’t explain but a feeling of protectiveness slowly building inside him. “Okay. What’s your plan?”

“We’ll keep watch on the roof in shifts of two,” Alec answered, then turned to Raphael, “Raphael, go get some tools. The window needs to be close before somebody else goes out.” Raphael nodded and motioned for Simon to follow him.

Later that night, Jace, together with Clary, kept watch, rifles at their sides. They were wrapped up from head to toe in blankets to protect them from the cold and the flies. Momentary spectral flashes dotted the darkness as both scanned the horizon.

A fancy silver lighter rolled between Ragnor’s dirty fingers on one hand as he grilled some steaks with the other, pausing in his cooking every few moments to take a slug from a can of beer. Maryse sat at the counter, staring at a prescription bottle tipped in front of her, pills spread around.

Ragnor glanced over, saw the devastation in her eyes. He pulled another can of beer from underneath the counter, popped it open, and placed it in front of Maryse, “On the house.”

Maryse looked up at him, smiled weakly, and took a sip, “Thanks.”

“You hungry?”

“Couldn’t eat if my life depended on it.”

Ragnor measured her, shrugged, “Well, I figure just because the world’s coming to an end, it doesn’t mean man gotta starve. All I can say is thank heavens they left the gas on.”

Maryse took another drink, contemplating, “Never much cared for beer. Robert is the beer drinker in the family.” The moment the words left her mouth, the grief hit her again. She gathered up some pills from the counter, tossed them back, and downed the beer like there was no tomorrow. This was a battle she was losing.

In a booth across the diner, Izzy joined by Catarina, we're fiddling with the old radio, twisting the dial back and forth. They listened for anything, but there was only static.

Magnus, together with Raphael and Simon, silently helped Alec in front of the diner, nailing broken table planks across the shattered window. Magnus eyed the strange tattoos running down Alec’s arm and the two visible jagged wounds visible above his shirt line, if he looked a little too long on the rippling muscles, he didn’t show it. “What did you do…you know, before you came here?” Magnus asked quietly as he handed a nail.

“I watched you. Then I came to meet you.” Was Alec’s straightforward answer, nailing the board.

Magnus flushed red, his heart suddenly hammering, “I d-didn’t mean that,” he stammered, “I mean, what did you do in heaven or wherever you angels hang out.”

Alec considered the question then answered after a beat, “I was a soldier. A general, in His army.”

“Well, what changed? What made you leave?” Magnus pressed, not satisfied with the answer.

“You.” Alec drove the last nail into place, securing the window, then turned to a red-faced Magnus, “I love one of His creation differently than what Angels are supposed to do. I was punished for it. Then I was given an order I didn’t believe in.” Alec traced a rough finger across Magnus’ cheek, stormy blue eyes looking deep into brown ones, “There’s not a moment passed that I don’t think of you,” he said with the sincerity of his entire being.

Magnus's face was flaming now, and he was thankful it was dark in the room, “I bet you say that to all the boys,” he scoffed weakly, looking away, but a firm hand kept his face in place.

“There’s no one else. Only you.” Alec said. Magnus closed his eyes, he couldn’t help but lean on the rough, warm hand.

There was gagging noises beside them. Simon pulled Raphael as they hastily excused themselves, uncomfortably and unintentionally eavesdropping to an end-of-the-world love confession.

“So, what happens to you…after this is over?”

Alec hesitated a beat, unsure of how much to say, “Sometimes we have to face the thing we fear the most to be free of it.” Alec picked up his gun, guided Magnus to where Cat and Izzy were, “It’s almost time for the next shift,” he said. Alec headed for the roof, leaving Magnus to stare after him, deep in thought.


	7. Part VII

**Part VII**

The faintest glint of sunlight punched through the dark, red, dusty haze as a new day had risen itself into existence. Alec was searching the horizon in front of the diner for movement, his expression was focused, determined. On the other side of the roof, Ragnor was struggling to stay awake, the beer was taking over, his eyes drooping close.

Below the diner, the occupants were scattered on the floor, sleeping. The cold, hard floor was an unfriendly place to sleep in, but they did their best to get comfortable. Then, one occupant was awakened with a start. “Robert?”

But Robert was not there, and everyone else in the diner was still asleep. The drugs had started to wear off, and her fear was returning. Maryse got up from the floor, careful not to wake her daughter beside her and went to the bathroom. She splashed water on her face and stared at the mirror; she was an image of a living wreck.

Maryse stepped out of the bathroom and froze when she heard a whisper of her name. “Whose there?” she asked, spinning around, searching. “Robert, is that you?”

The whisper sounded like her husband’s voice. _“Help me…please.”_

This time it was clear, it was Robert’s, and where it was coming from. Maryse turned to face the back door, _“Help me. Maryse.”_ It was coming from behind the door. Maryse was so stricken, she didn’t know what to do, then she noticed the small window above the door. Maryse climbed onto the desk and stretched until she could see out.

Robert! Her husband was ten feet away from the door, nailed to an upside-down cross. And even worse, his skin was covered with horrible black boils, and the boils were breathing. Maryse went slacked with horror.

“Help me, please!” Robert wailed, his torn open shirt showed the breathing pustules covering his body, he was writhing in slow, excruciating agony.

“Robert!” Maryse scrambled down the desk and frantically pushed it away from the door. She was reaching for the deadbolt when Izzy and Simon appeared in the doorway. “Mom!”

Simon raced to restrain Maryse. “Let me go! He’s alive!” she struggled against the teen, and with the strength of a crazed person, she threw a wild elbow, tagged Simon in the face, his hold loosened as he went down. Maryse was about to open the door when Izzy pounced on her mother. The shouting from the back office awakened the rest of the sleepers. Catarina sprung up and quickly followed the noise. Magnus and the others following.

The Lightwood women were locked in battle, Izzy desperately stopping her mother from opening the door. Maryse slapped Izzy hard, and she stumbled over Simon and hit the floor – it was the scene Cat happened upon.

Maryse whipped open the door, and time seemed to slow down; Robert was there, only a few feet away. He was alive. Maryse ran toward him, just behind her was Catarina.

“Robert!”

That woken everyone from their stupor, the time returned to normal, and that was when the boils covering Robert’s body exploded, spraying streams of dark fluid toward Maryse.

Just at that moment, a full-on with adrenaline Catarina spun the Lightwood matriarch around, her body shielding Maryse from the spray. The spray hit her back, but she was not stopping. Cat dragged Maryse back into the diner, the door slamming close behind them. She pushed Maryse, letting her hysterically stumbled into the room. Raphael and Simon grabbed her to the ground, but she was not fighting anymore.

Magnus turned to look at his friend, who was still standing with her back to the door, breathing heavily, “Cat, darling?”

Cat took a step forward then fell to the ground, the entire backside of her body was gone, the white of the bones of her spine was showing among the charred flesh.

“Cat! No!” Magnus cried loudly and rushed toward his friend, but Jace was quick, he grabbed him from behind before he could take a single step, “Let me go!”

“Stop struggling!” Jace grunted, he was having trouble restraining Magnus from going to Cat’s body, “It’s bad for the baby, goddamnit!”

“What happened here!?” Ragnor roared. He followed Alec the moment he saw him climb down, body tensed, and guns cocked.

“Cat!” Magnus cried, reaching for his friend. Jace let him go. “She’s gone.” Ragnor peered from Magnus’ shoulder and saw the burned body of their friend. He choked, “Shh. Shh. Don’t cry, it’s bad for the baby,” he whispered, trying to be strong for the both of them. “I’ll take care of her.” Ragnor turned to Alec, eyes red. Alec nodded and wordlessly led Magnus out of the back office.

Catarina’s body was laid on the table, a sheet covering her corpse. Ragnor stared ruefully at their dead friend. Tears down his face as he rolled the lighter between his fingers. Raphael watched one of his surrogate parents from the doorway, his own face wet.

“We should get back out there…” Raphael half-heartedly said, voice rough.

“Just give me another minute with her, okay?” Raphael nodded and silently left Ragnor at the side of Catarina.

His cries had subsided, but the tears kept flowing. He lost their Cat, his best friend. She was gone. Forever. Magnus’s body shivered as cries wracked his body once again. The arms tucking him in, held him even more closely, careful of the pregnant belly between them. “She’s a good person.”

“I know,” Alec whispered above his head. The vibrations from his voice gave Magnus comfort.

Maryse was catatonic. Jace and Simon were tying her into a chair, not like it looked like she was capable of going anywhere, but it was better safe than sorry. Izzy watched with red-rimmed eyes as they restrained her mother, her heart cried for her, but she knew another selfish act would cost another’s life. One death was already too much. But two? She didn’t even want to think about it.

So, she turned her attention to the old radio, together with Clary, tuning it, trying to find something, anything in the static. Her fingers froze when she thought they heard something, she brought her ear up close, waited. Then, she heard it again. Was that a voice? She exchanged looks with Clary. Clary adjusted the antenna, trying to bring the signal into a more precise focus.

“Hey! You guys, I think we got something here!” Izzy called excitedly. Everyone dropped what they were doing and quickly gathered around the radio.

Through the haze of the static, a grave voice was heard. The voice sounded strained beyond belief but still broadcasting:

_“Battling has been fierce. The numbers of casualties are unknown, but all indications are that they must be imaginably bad.”_

There was a brief interruption of static.

_“If you’re just joining us, we're getting some of the first bits of good news, if you can call it that since this apocalypse began just twenty-four hours ago. A human militia has formed on the outskirts of Las Vegas and has begun to engage the enemy. Also, down in the Four Corners area, we’ve been receiving unconfirmed reports of another resistance force gathering in Red Rock National in the Northern Mojave Desert area.”_

“Red Rock,” Raphael whispered, a glint of hope in his voice.

“That can’t be more than an hour up the highway from here,” Ragnor said.

“Does that mean we can leave?” Clary asked. She was as hopeful as Raphael.

“No,” Alec said, firm. “We’re not going anywhere.”

“What the hell are you talking about? This is our chance!” Jace argued.

“We can’t risk being on the move when our child comes. It’s too dangerous.” Alec answered.

They all looked at Magnus, defeated. Magnus shook his head, anger building. He sent Alec a glare and stomped off.

Magnus stood at the sink in the bathroom, pacing back and forth, stealing a private moment for himself. Then, he caught himself in the mirror, he stopped moving and ran a hand along the curvature of his belly. Tears welled up in his eyes once more, fear and anger taking over. He stomped a foot in a fit of frustration.


	8. Part VIII

**Part VIII**

_Angels were not meant to meddle with humans; their duty was to merely observed and influence, but in his long existence, Alexander had never felt drawn to one of His creations until that one soul._

_It was brighter than a star and purer than any other soul he had observed birthed to life by a human. His was a unique soul with a special gift._

_Alexander had watched his soul formed flesh inside the womb of his mother. Had watched the child born into the world. He had listened to the child’s cries as he would listen to the choir of his brethren. He had watched him grow into the most beautiful creature he had laid his eyes on._

_And Alexander knew when had first peered into the child’s eyes that he would give his wings and his whole existence to protect his beautiful soul._

_“Alexander, what are you doing?” Gabriel asked without preemptive as he landed beside his brother and folded his wings, “The Host forbids interacting with humans.”_

_Alexander ignored his brother, continued watching the then six-year-old Magnus as he played on the beach. Bright brown eyes were full of concentration as he built his sandcastle._

_A strong wave crashed the shore and pulled Magnus into its strong current. The child barely knew how to swim and had struggled to stay afloat. Without thinking, Alexander reached out and coaxed the waves to tame and carried the child gently back to the safety of the shore._

_Small arms wrapped around his neck, face warm with tears pressed to it. “You are safe now,” Alexander whispered gently, soothing the young Magnus. He could his parents running toward their child in worry. He put him down and patted his head._

_“Thank you,” young Magnus said, tears still visible on his face, and ran to his worried parents._

_“Have you lost your senses!?” Gabriel roared, he looked at his brother as if he saw a different entity. “We can’t interfere with humans, let alone interact with them.”_

_Alexander was glad his brother brought his common sense with him and remained unseen, he looked at him with defiance, “And stood by and watched a child cling to life as it was slowly taken from him?” his mind asked._

_Alexander knew he should stop, but he couldn’t help but the fascination he felt turned into something more, more profound. He watched him sway to the beat, his eyes following his every movement, mesmerized._

_“Alexander, this has to stop,” Uriel’s voice filled his thought as he landed beside him, unseeing._

_“Gabriel sent you?” Alexander asked with his mind, not turning his attention to the other, continued to watch Magnus’ undulating body._

_“Stop defying the Him,” Uriel warned, but his brother continued to ignore him. “You will anger Him,” he said one last time, then he was gone._

_“You question Him?” Gabriel asked._

_“I question myself,” Alec answered, giving his brother a sidelong glance, “and so should you.” Alec turned to face his brother, “Since their creation, He’s told us only to love them. I cannot stop, not just because I love one of them differently,” he said._

_“They brought this judgment upon themselves,” Gabriel said firmly._

_“They are just lost,” Alec reasoned, pleading, “It is our duty to guide them.”_

_“It is our place to obey.”_

_“Tell me, Gabriel,” Alec stared his brother in the eye, “Do you wish to give what He wants…or what He needs?”_

_“It's not your test, Alexander.” Gabriel stated firmly, then asked, “How dare you listen to His heart?”_

_“Because He made this one,” Alec said, placing a hand over his heart, “It tells me we shouldn’t lose faith now.”_

_“Too late. The order has been given, Alexander. The weak will turn against the strong, and we will undo what has been done.” Gabriel said warningly, “And if you defy Him, you’ll anger Him for the last time.”_

_Alec squared his shoulder, turned his back on his brother then cast a challenging look over his shoulder, “Try to stop me,” he said before he dropped down. Enormous wings sprouted from his back as he descended._

It was a quiet late afternoon, Alec drifted past sleeping figures to Magnus, wide awake, sitting in a booth, deep in thought. Magnus looked up to see Alec sat beside him. “Hey,” he greeted quietly.

“You okay?”

“You mean besides the fact that I just found out that the father of my child is an ex-Angel, the world is ending, and I’m about to pop a kid in the middle of it?” Magnus tried to be sarcastic but failed. Alec just nodded.

“At first, I didn’t want this baby,” Magnus started, looking at his hand, “I went to the clinic,” he looked at Alec for a reaction but was surprised to only see understanding. “I remember sitting there in the waiting room. So sure, I was doing the right thing. That was when the feeling started,” Magnus's shoulders shook, “Like I was falling into the deepest, darkest hole. I couldn’t breathe. It brought unwanted memories, but when they called my name, I ran away.” A lone tear fell but was wiped away by Alec, Magnus looked at him, “I told no one about it. I don’t want them to see this,” his voice hitched, “this ugly side of me.”

“Magnus,” Alec held him, tucking him below his chin, and kissed his temple, “There’s nothing ugly about you,” he said, comforting.

-0-

The sand swirling in the sand was visible on the diner’s roof that late afternoon, the invisible sun was sinking. Simon and Izzy were bundled together on the roof, keeping watch. Simon was showing Izzy how to hold the MP5, like how it was taught to him, “Then you just flip this-.” Izzy flipped the safety.

“Yeah, I got it. All the way down. Two clicks.” Izzy said as she pointed the gun out into the haze like she had been holding one all her life. Simon looked at her, surprised.

Izzy glanced at Simon, “I dated this guy last summer,” she said. “A marine. He had a thing for guns. My parents hated him.”

“I bet they did,” Simon chuckled.

After a moment, Izzy switched the safety back on and handed the gun over to Simon. She stared into the nothingness surrounding them, her expression going distant, “My parents hated everything I do. That’s why we’re moving.” Simon hummed in response. “They thought a more “wholesome environment would help me” change my ways,” she scoffed, “So fucked up. The only reason they care is that they don’t want to be embarrassed in front of their friends at the Country Club.”

Simon considered her thoughtfully, “The only time my mom ever paid attention to me was when she is drunk. You know what I did?”

“What?”

“I poured all her liquor down the drain and called child services. My mom was sent to rehab. Magnus helped me stay with my sister.”

Izzy looked at Simon, “Magnus,” she wondered, “He seems like a good guy.”

“He is,” Simon smiled. “We live on the same floor in NY. He used to babysit Clary and me when we were little. He was there for Clary when her mom was sent to jail.” Izzy looked shocked, he continued, “Clary’s dad was an abusive fucker. I guess, Mrs. F, couldn’t take it anymore.”

“I’m sorry about your friend, Cat,” Izzy said solemnly. “She saved my mom.”

Simon smiled warmly at Izzy and wiped a stray tear. Izzy leaned and kissed Simon. He kissed her back; it was shy at first, then it became heated, desperate. Simon’s hand inexperiencedly traced over her body.

Izzy clawed at him, her passion growing out of control, she was practically devouring him. Simon could barely keep up; it was something else beyond sensual need had taken over. Izzy moved down his chest, Simon leaned his head back.

Just then, the spotlights illuminated the roof sign that came to life. The young couple stopped to look up at the brilliant diner’s sign illuminated above them. Down below, the gas pumps lighted up.

The station’s fluorescent flickered on. All at once, the entire diner came back to life – the jukebox whirred on, filling the room with soft music. The old tv glowed with bright rolling static, and the electric fan spun on above the grill.

Alec and Jace moved to look through the slats at the window. Magnus was giving Maryse some water through a straw when Ragnor wandered in, squinting at the sudden presence of light, “Are we back in business?”

“I don’t think so,” Alec answered.

The truck stop was lit up like a Christmas tree, some might mistake the place for business, as usual. Simon and Izzy stood in the roof, taking in the dramatic change.

“Is it over?” Izzy asked.

“I don’t know,” Simon replied, he raised his gun when he saw headlights appeared on the highway. “You better get downstairs.”

“No, I can handle it,” Izzy refused. Simon stared at her beautiful, determined face. He pulled a Glock and gave it to her, “Just in case,” he said.

The headlights became a family minivan careening wildly off the highway to stop at the pumps. “Get ready,” Simon said. They aimed their weapons at the vehicle. A well-dressed man in his mid-thirties jumped out of the car, he looked around nervously, scared. Then seeing the coast was clear, he offered a calming wave to his wife and a young boy who waited anxiously for him inside the car and raced to the gas pumps. “Wait a minute,” Simon lowered his gun.

“Simon. Are they-?” Izzy started but was cut off by a distant screech from behind. Simon and Izzy spun to look out over the backside of the diner, an army of dark shapes were swarming in fast. Simon looked urgently back at the family, the father lifted the pump and flipped the lever.

“It’s a trap,” Simon realized in horror. “They saw them coming and turn on the lights. It’s a fucking trap!” He and Izzy waved their arms frantically at the family. “Hey! Get back in your car! It’s a trap!”

But down below, the man could only hear the sound of the raging wind as he pumped the gas. Simon fired his gun in the air. Startled, the man quickly looked up the roof, his family heard it too, and they started to scream to him.

The man could only see silhouettes in the light, and he was not waiting to see if it was friend or foe. Izzy watched in horror as the dark shapes reached the diner. “They’re not gonna make it!”

The father dashed to the driver’s side and threw open the door, but he was too late. The man looked over his shoulder just in time to see a blur of movement rushing at him. His blood painted the car windows.

Simon raised his MP5 to fire upon the dark shapes that surrounded the vehicle like swarming insects, the young boy and his mom screamed hysterically as they were torn from the car by skeletal hands. Izzy pushed the barrel of Simon’s gun, “Wait! You’ll hit them too!”

Simon knew Izzy was right and made a desperately courageous move. He leaped onto the roof’s sloped overhang, sliding fast, and dropped to the ground in front of the diner. “Simon!” Izzy cried.

Simon charged the dark mob, creatures peeled away from the woman and boy to confront the bespectacled boy head-on. Simon let loose with a rain of bullets, eviscerating everything that came at him.

The group was gathered at the window and were stunned to see Simon racing out toward the pumps. “Christ!” Ragnor exclaimed, unbelieving. “What the hell is that boy doing!?”

“Simon!” Magnus and Clary cried in fear. “We have to get him out of there!” Magnus panicked. Ragnor jumped into action, pushed the booth away from the door. The sound of a gun cocking made him stop, he turned and watched to see Alec pointing a gun at his head.

“Don’t,” Alec warned, devoid of emotion. “You open that door, and we could all be dead.” Alec ignored the look of hurt and betrayal he could feel coming from Magnus.

The Possessed moved in from all sides, but Simon was a remarkably agile and quick learner, dropping one after another in a stunning display. He closed in on the family, shooting away the creatures huddled around them. Simon found the young boy curled up with his hands protectively covering his face, he swooped down and gathered the boy into his arms. “I got you!”

Simon moved on to the mother but belatedly realized that the creatures had stopped coming at him. They were just standing, watching. Simon froze as he sensed something was terribly wrong.

“Mister,” the young boy called. Simon looked over at the boy in his arms, pale white eyes staring back at him, “Fooled you,” the boy whispered. Then a flash of teeth torn out at Simon’s throat, he dropped on his knees, wide eyes and mouth slacked open.

On the roof, Izzy watched helplessly as Simon fell, “Simon!” she yelled.

Jace held Clary back from attacking Alec as she screamed her best friend’s name. Magnus stared at Alec, dumbfounded, at how cold he was. Ragnor kicked over a table in disgust when they saw Simon fell, “Damnit all to hell!”

“Isabelle,” there was an alarm in Raphael’s voice, and they all looked out the window to see Izzy dropped from the roof and ran toward Simon.

The young boy stood over Simon; his innocent face hauntingly watched the life drained from the older boy’s body. The young boy looked up to see Izzy approaching fast.

With water in his eyes, he opened his small arms pleadingly to Izzy, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to!” he implored.

“Fuck you!” Izzy raised the Glock and kept on pulling the trigger. Nothing. The boy’s tears had instantly stopped and looked at Izzy with an eerie calmness for someone so young. “You’re going to die now.”

The boy moved toward Izzy, stepping over Simon’s body, made her back away. Izzy looked the entrance to the diner, but it was blocked by advancing creatures. She was trapped, they were everywhere.

Her eyes flicked over the minivan and noticed the open door, and so she bolted and dived into the car as the throng of creatures rapidly closed in. Izzy hammered the auto door lock and moved to the center of the vehicle as gruesome faces pressed against the window, it was a nightmare coming to life.

Panicked, Magnus rushed to Alec and pushed at his chest, “Have you no heart!? She’s just a kid!” he screamed, “You can’t let her die!” But Alec was immovable. With a yell of frustration, Magnus grabbed a gun from the table, cocked it, and moved toward the door.

“Wait.”

Magnus looked back at Alec, defiant. No one moved a muscle as they watched the battle of wills. Alec pursed his lips, then with a sigh of defeat, turned to Ragnor, “Open the door.”

Ragnor sprang into action, cleared the door, and flipped the deadbolt. The door was opened, Alec charged passed Magnus and out into hell.

With remarkable calmness, Alec marched straight for the pumps. Inside the minivan, Izzy screamed as the windows began to crack. Alec grabbed a gas pump, flipped the lever, and pointed it at the van.

The creatures turned to look at Alec as if they had just noticed him, he then started spraying gas at them with one hand, the other held a gun, clicking. The spray of gas exploded into a shower of fire; the minivan was engulfed in flames.

The creatures tore away from the car like fiery comets through the night. The windows exploded, showering Izzy with tiny shards of glass. Alec dropped the gas pump; he reached through a fire broken window and unlocked the door. Izzy looked up to see Alec’s expressionless face circled by a ring of fire, “Come with me.” As the fire was spreading quickly under the car, he pulled Izzy from the flaming vehicle, “Run.” Together they ran toward the open diner door. Behind them, the minivan exploded in a ball of fire, and it roared at them.

Everybody’s eyes went wide at the insanity they were witnessing. Izzy was the first one in. Alec was almost there, but the fire was faster, engulfing him in flame.

“Alexander!” Magnus cried, worried.

“Get back inside!” Ragnor pulled Magnus away from the door. Bursting from the flames, Alec marched confidently into the diner. Raphael slammed the door just as the wall of fire reached them.

Alec scooped and tucked Magnus in his arms, shielding him and their baby. Everyone hit the deck as the fire shot through the slats covering the window like spindly fingers reaching for prey. Alec made sure it was his body that absorbed the impact; his clothes were smoky, a fiery mess. Raphael and Ragnor rushed to pat him down.

Clary was the first one to recover from the smoke, she quickly got out of Jace’s hug, “I’ll get some water!” and dashed behind the counter to the sink. She filled a pitcher full of water. She turned away from the sink with the filled pitcher and screamed.

The young boy with lifeless white eyes stood before her, wielding an enormous butcher’s knife. The pitcher shattered loudly on the floor when the boy swung the blade at her, slicing open her denim jumper.

Clary tumbled back to the ground behind the counter and frantically pushed herself away from the approaching boy. But she didn’t have far to go before she had run out of room to maneuver.

“Come on, don’t be scared. I just want to play with you,” came the eerily calm voice of the boy.

Clary was backed against the end of the counter. The boy raised the knife to strike, Clary grabbed a baking pan off the shelf and swung it out in front of her like a shield as the blade was driven down. The knife hit the pan hard and stopped, but the boy’s hand didn’t, and they slipped off the handle and ran into the blade.

The knife clattered to the floor; the boy instinctively raised his hands to strike again, but there was no knife. Clary watched in horror as the boy calmly realized his thumbs were missing and blood was spraying from the stumps. Clary pulled her legs in close, then rocketed them out at the boy’s chest, and the boy catapulted away from her.

Jace leaped over the counter, having heard her scream, and landed in front of Clary, but the boy was gone, “Are you hurt?” he asked.

Clary shook her head, then, “Where is he!?” she asked, frantically searching.

The diner was once again plunged into darkness as the electricity went out. “The kid’s still here!” Raphael shouted as the flashlight he carried fanned out across the diner, under tables, under chairs.

“Where the fuck is he!?” Ragnor growled. He was too old for this.

A scampering sound was heard, it was moving fast. Everybody spun to track the location of the sound, but as they followed in one direction, the scampering was heard in another.

Raphael’s light caught something on the floor, a trail of blood. “He’s bleeding!” he shouted. Beams of light joined together, moving fast to track across the diner where it ended at a wall. Raphael raised his flashlight up the wall where the trail of blood reached the ceiling and stopped, “What the hell?”

With a screech, the bloody boy sprang off a table behind them and landed on Raphael’s back. The teen flailed around, trying to pull the boy’s small but deadly strong arms away from his neck. “Raphael!” Magnus shouted, worried.

Jace couldn’t get a clear shot. Raphael was gasping for air.

Alec grabbed the boy and fiercely ripped him off of Raphael’s back and swung the boy around like a living shot put, “Get ready!” he shouted. Ragnor and Jace whipped up their guns as Alec threw the wicked creature in the air.

Maryse's vacant face flickered in the light as the sound of gunfire, and inhuman screaming filled the diner, then all was quiet.

Behind the counter, Magnus helped Clary to her feet. He winced and doubled over, clutching at his stomach, “Ohh.” Alec was at his side in an instant, and flashlight lowered at the ground; clear fluid was pooling at Magnus’ feet.


	9. Part IX

**Part IX**

Flickering lights emanated from within the diner engulfed in the inky darkness. Magnus was writhing on the floor with Alec behind him, holding his hands. Clary was kneeling between his legs. Izzy was preparing steaming water around them.

“What am I supposed to do? Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I automatically know how to do this!” wailed Clary nervously.

“You’ll do fine, biscuit,” Magnus gritted, trying to assure the nervous teen.

“Just do as I say,” Alec said.

Clary narrowed her eyes at Alec, “Yeah, but how do you know how to do this!?”

Ragnor and Raphael kept watching on the roof. Jace was in the diner by the front door. The spectral lights in the distance seemed to be growing larger, closer as Magnus's cries grew louder.

Any other time, birthing would be a celebration of joy. Since the day they learned of their friend’s pregnancy, they’d been eager and excited, waiting for this day. Catarina was supposed to help with the birthing at a clinic, they thought to drive Ragnor mad with errands, and Raphael would pick a name. But all was a distant dream now.

“What a way to bring a baby to this world,” Jace muttered lowly, looking through the slats on the boarded-up window. He didn’t know why took that turn, maybe because he thought it was a shortcut, an effortless way. Just like how he was doing his entire life.

A sound disturbed their reverie. It was a deep, long, body rumbling tone rising up off the plain as if emanating from the most enormous horn ever constructed. Jace frantically searched through the slats.

“What was that?” Raphael looked Ragnor, wondering.

The spectral lights dotted the landscape now with untold numbers.

Alec reacted to the sound; an urgency came over him. Izzy arrived with clean towels. “What is that!?”

“He’s coming. We have to hurry,” Alec told Magnus.

“Who’s coming?!” Clary demanded. “And what do you mean, hurry? This isn’t something you can exactly hurry, is it!?”

Alec ignored the teen. He pressed his lips in Magnus temple, “I need you to push,” he said. “Push as hard as you can.”

“Alec, who is coming!?” Izzy asked, kneeling beside Clary with towels.

Magnus pushed, tears streaming down his face, delirious with pain. It was a gruesome, bloody affair, but it was getting close to an end as he felt something big was sliding out of him. “Ahhhh!”

“You’re doing good,” Alec encouraged. “We’re almost there.”

On the roof, Ragnor and Raphael watched helplessly as the army of creatures had closed within a hundred yards of the diner, their ranks stretched back outwardly without end into the darkness.

“We are not gonna make it out of here, are we?” Raphael asked grimly.

Ragnor looked at the young man, their son, their baby. The agony was stretched across his face, “I’m sorry, Raphe. You’re so young, this shouldn’t be happening to you.”

Raphael rested a comforting hand on Ragnor’s shoulder, he seemed to age a few years. Ragnor pulled him close and hugged him with all his might, tears filling both their eyes.

Amidst the dirt and darkness, Magnus let out a final agonizing scream, then came a baby’s wail. Clary, eyes wide, held up the baby and exchanged a stunned, elated look with Izzy. Both girls were squealing. “Oh my god, …we did it! Magnus, you did it!”

Magnus sagged on Alec’s chest, smiling weakly. Clary placed the baby on Magnus’ chest, cutting the umbilical cord. Magnus was looking at their baby, he was tired but happy. Alec brushed a finger across their boy’s soft cheek, mesmerized, “He’s beautiful. Just like you,” Alec whispered in Magnus’ ear.

“Magnus?” Clary called, worried.

Magnus laid limply on Alec, passed out, but with a small, proud smile on his face. “It’s okay. Just give him a minute.” Alec assured. “Take him.”

Clary nodded and took the baby. Together with Izzy, they cleaned and soothe the wailing infant.

Another drone of the horn rattled the walls, menacing – it was getting closer. Izzy reacted by crossing the counter and turning on the radio, trying to drown out the sound of the approaching menace. Out of the static, the haunting sound of _Silent Night_ filled the diner. It was the quiet before the storm.

After a while, Magnus woke up tiredly, searching for their baby. Alec helped him quickly cleaned himself and assured him that their child was okay. Magnus looked at him, hope burning in his eyes, “Is it over? Are we safe now?” he asked.

Alec closed his eyes briefly, then looked at Magnus, staring. “No. killing our child would have ended the war before it had begun,” he answered, honestly. “Now, at least, he will have a chance to grow up. A chance to lead the world out of the darkness.”

His words gave Magnus a little comfort. “What happens until then?”

“He’ll need to be taught how.”

Magnus shook his head; he was scared. This was all too much. “What makes you think I can do that?”

“I believe in you.”

“You’ll be with me, right?” Magnus asked, searching Alec’s eyes, hoping. “We got this, don’t we, Alexander?”

“We do.”

Izzy walked the baby back and forth, deep in thought. She approached her mother, thinking the presence of the newborn would snap Maryse out of her state. Izzy kneeled down in front of Maryse, despite how much her mom pissed her off, it broke her heart to see her mother in such a demoralized state. “Mom, can you hear me?” she called softly and held up the baby, proudly, “We did it. The baby’s alive. Mom?”

If Maryse had heard Izzy, it didn’t show on her face. Tears welled up in Izzy’s eyes as she moved away from her mother, but what she didn’t know, Maryse’s hands were loosening the bonds behind the chair, and blood was trickling from where the rope cut through her skin.

The baby’s wail drifted through the dark shapes outside the diner, reverberating up and down the ranks, and they began to look about frantically, agitated by the sound. Some had even started to back away from the diner. The dark creatures all around the restaurant cowered as the cries of the infant grew louder.

High above the truck stop, the sound of enormous wings beating against the wind as the creature that bore them looked at the lights of the legion of monsters dotted the diner.

Ragnor and Raphael entered the diner to see Alec helping Magnus from the bathroom, Clary was putting away the pots while Izzy continued to pace, the bundle of blankets cradled in her arms.

The sudden glimmer in his eyes was quickly overcome by sadness, “Something’s happening.” Raphael said. “They’re moving away.”

“The Possessed can’t come near our child. So, He sent someone who can. Someone like me.” Alec said, face grim.

“Who?” Ragnor asked with dread.

“My Lieutenant, Gabriel,” Alec answered, looking at everyone except Magnus. “He’s come to do what I wouldn’t.”

Magnus looked at Alexander, brows furrowed as the realization hit him, “Your orders,” he said, voice trembling, “You were the one who supposed to kill my baby? That was the order you didn’t obey?” Alec nodded grimly.

The baby wailed louder as if sensing the tension in the room. They all looked at Alec in disbelief. “There was never meant to be a salvation,” Alec said as he caught Magnus’ arm when he walked away, he forced him to look at him, pleading. “But we’ve just changed that. Our child lives. The future is unwritten. There’s still hope.”

Magnus, shaken by the revelation, reached out to Izzy as fear slowly consuming him, “Izzy?” he called.

Izzy moved to hand over the baby when Maryse suddenly sprang out of her chair and snatched the bundle from Izzy’s arm. Maryse backed away from them, moving toward the front door. Maryse was the face of madness. “Stay away from me! Don’t come any closer!”

“Mom!”

“Don’t do it, lady!” Ragnor warned.

“Look, you bitch, I haven’t taken a look at the baby yet!” Jace growled. Beside him, Clary was reaching out, pleading. “Please give back the baby.”

“You heard what he said,” Maryse smiled madly. “They just want the baby. Maybe if we just give it to them, then they’ll let us go!” Alec cocked his gun and pointed it at Maryse.

“Mom, please!”

The horn blared once more, deafening, shaking everything in the diner. It was right outside the door.

Magnus squared off with Maryse, panic in his eyes, “Give him to me!”

“Why?” Maryse mocked, cackling. “You never wanted him in the first place! You sat at the clinic, waiting for your turn.”

Magnus stared at her in horror, the truth of those words rattled him to the core, “N-no..I-I..” he stammered.

“It doesn’t matter. He kept the baby!” Jace shouted, stalling for time. Maryse was almost in front of the door.

“It’s just one baby!”

A loud crash was heard when the diner’s door was torn off its hinges. A brilliant spectral light poured into the restaurant. Maryse was blinded and raised a hand to block the light. Alec didn’t waste any more time and pulled the trigger. Maryse staggered back, blood dripping from the hole in her forehead. Magnus screamed and scrambled to reach as his baby went flying out of Maryse’s hands, but Raphael held him back. Alec fired again, blowing Maryse’s body back through the doorway.

Jace watched the baby sailed slowly through the air and reacted quickly. He dived for the baby, catching the bundle of rags mere inches from the ground. Before he could release a sigh of relief, le looked up in time to see a dark shape of a man approaching from out of the ethereal light, a man with wings.

Everyone’s eyes grew wide as the fierce Angel stepped into the diner. But this Angel looked differently from angels they thought they know; this creature was built for war, rough-hewn, and battle-scarred. His body armor made him appear disturbingly insect-like; his wings were not feathery or gentle. Instead, they were hard, mechanical. An organic machine. The Angel’s wings retracted with clock-work like precision. And his face bore a striking resemblance to Alec.

Gabriel raised a massive, ferocious, strangely mechanical looking mace in his powerful hands and brought the weapon arching down at Jace.

“Jace!” Clary screamed.

Jace rolled, the weapon just missed him, hitting the floor in a spray of sparks, literary cracking the ground. Gabriel brought the mace up again. Jace wouldn’t be lucky a second time.

“Sonuvabitch!” Ragnor yelled, charging at the Angel, sub-machine blaring.

Gabriel reacted instantly by unfolding his wings and launching himself in the air. The bullets clawing up the wall behind him. But Ragnor’s daring move had given Jace time to get up and run with the baby for the back of the diner. He thrust the infant into Magnus’ hands. Magnus cradled their baby protectively to his chest.

Gabriel dropped in front of Ragnor, whipping his wings around like a deadly, razor-sharp fan. Ragnor stopped firing, a look of surprise stretched over his face, his gun falling from his hands. Then, blood began to pour out of the slice across his belly.

“Ragnor!” Magnus and Raphael screamed, stricken.

With a sweep of a hand, Gabriel sent Ragnor flying across the diner. He crashed down behind the counter near the stove. Raphael charged at Gabriel, Magnus tried to hold him back, tears falling and his guns blazing with fire. The Angel turned his attention to the firing boy and swung his mechanical mace. Glinting sharp blades replaced the spikes, cutting the gun on Raphael’s hands in perfect half and imbedded to Raphael’s chest, a millimeter near his heart. But Raphael was not deterred by the blood nor the pain in his chest, he jumped on the angel’s back when he turned around from him, and locked his arms on its neck, yelling, “His name is Max!”

“Raphael!” Magnus cried.

Alec cocked his gun, fury in his eyes, he was about to join the fray when Jace grabbed his arm, “No, Alec! Only you can protect your family!” he reached into his pocket and fished out the keys to Alec’s police cruiser, “I nicked it out of your pocket,” he smirked proudly and pushed the keys to Alec.

“What about you!?”

Jace smile, all arrogance, “I think I get it now. No more shortcuts and easy way out for me,” he said and let go of Alec’s hand. He turned to face Gabriel.

Alec looked up from the keys to see Magnus and their baby, and the two girls, Izzy and Clary. He closed his hand around the keys with a determined purpose. “C’mon!”

“Jace,” Clary called in tears.

“Until we meet again, Clary.”

Magnus looked past Alec to see Jace joining the fray, “Wait! We can’t leave them!”

“We have no choice! We have to get to Red Rock!” Alec pulled Magnus past the counter toward the back office. They stopped when they saw Ragnor’s body lying on the ground by the stove in a pool of his own blood. Ragnor’s half-open eyes focused on Magnus, and his baby, in his outstretched hand, was fancy lighter next to a broken gas pipe leading to the stove.

“Ragnor!” Magnus called, terrified. Alec tried to help him up.

“Leave me, Alec. I’ll only slow you down.” Ragnor said weakly. He smiled tiredly and gaze at the baby.

“Max,” Magnus said, crying. “His name is Max.”

“Run.”

So, they went with heavy hearts. Izzy and Clary pushed the desk away from the door, Alec opened it, inspecting as sand swirled around him. The coast was clear, and he led the small group out of the door.


	10. Part X

**Part X**

Gabriel spun, twirling, and landed on the floor with a vicious thud. Raphael's grip loosened, the Angel got up and swung mace down again, but the teen was not as quick, the spikes shattered his ribs instantly stopped the beating of his heart.

Jace charged at Gabriel. He had known these people for barely forty-eight hours, but they stood up for him. Guess this what family meant, to have someone cared for you genuinely even if you’re not blood. These what these people are.

Face wet, his guns blaring at each hand like a hero in a movie, but Gabriel had wings, and he moved with staggering speed, defying gravity to avoid the rain of bullets. The angel pushed into the air and jabbed a spike straight into the barrel of Jace’s MP5. The gun exploded on Jace’s hand, sending him rocketing backward where he landed on the counter.

Gabriel swooped in fast. Jace kicked him in the chest, by some miracle it was hard enough to send the angel fluttering back. Jace pushed himself to his feet, the angel recovered and jabbed with his mace again. Jace grabbed hold of Ragnor’s ceiling mounted tv for support and lifted his body just above the menacing weapon, he then kicked Gabriel in the head, momentarily stunning him.

Jace took the opportunity, he dived at the angel, landing an impressive flurry of punches and rattled the angel by the assault. Gabriel clumsily lifted his mace and thrust with it, Jace narrowly evaded the razor point which was driven to a wall. A swift kick to the chest, Gabriel was thrust crushing back, losing his grip on the weapon.

Jace took a running leap onto Gabriel’s back, the angel launched wildly into the air, trying to throw the young man off. They hit the ceiling, but Jace hanged on, attempted to choke the life out of the angel.

The trio helped Magnus, and the baby quickly moved around the side of the diner where the cruiser was parked as they were buffeted with sand and wind. Alec put Magnus and their baby in the front passenger seat while Izzy and Clary were hustled in the back. Alec rounded to the side of the car and hopped in.

Alec jabbed the key into the ignition and turned it, but the engine struggled to fire up. Alec gave it some gas, but the engine was not catching. They all looked at him in panic. “Fuck!” he cursed. It was amusing really, to see an Angel cursed, but their situation was not something to smile about.

A dark shape pounced onto the hood of the car; a disfigured face and beard of a shopping mall Santa Claus pawed itself into the cruiser, oversized belly gruesomely distended. Eyes wide with fright, the girls screamed with Magnus.

Alec pumped the gas a little too hard this time, and the engine burst to life. The creature was about to punch a fist through the glass. Alec threw the car in reverse. “Hang on!” then he floored it, rocketing the cruiser backward toward the highway.

But the creature was still pawing on the cruiser. “Fuck off!” Alec pulled the wheel, and the police cruiser whipped around a full 180 onto the road. The creature shot off the car and hit the asphalt, but it quickly got up and charged toward the cruiser, determined. Alec threw the car in the drive just as the possessed Santa ran toward the car, he hit the pedal, and the car gave a screech.

The creature didn’t have a chance as the police car plowed into him. Bones crunched as a flash of red and white was sent sailing over the car and tumbled down onto the road behind them in a cloud of dust. “I told you to fuck off!” Alec clenched the wheel and hit the pedal.

“Check for weapons,” Alec said as he placed a Glock on the dashboard. There was still the police issue shotgun in the front seat rack.

Magnus searched underneath his seat and pulled a grenade, “Is this what I think it is?” he asked, nervously.

“Yes,” Alec answered and took the weapon out of Magnus’ hand, slowly putting it in the rack.

Clary and Izzy fished around the backseat, “We got a flare gun. And a box of flares,” Izzy said, she and Clary held each item out for Alec to see.

“Alright,” Alec nodded, he handed a Glock to Magnus, “Load this,” he instructed, then looked through the rearview mirror to see the backseat, “Can you two figure out how to load that flare gun without killing us all?” The girls nodded and answered, “We can try.” Alec looked at the two young women as they anxiously set about loading the flare gun, “Try hard.”

Gabriel flew into a wall to an attempt to crush the young man. He failed but succeeded in leaving a massive dent. He flew to the opposite wall, it had a thin wall, and they crashed into the bathroom. Unbelievingly, Jace was still holding on.

Gabriel thrust himself back into the bathroom mirror, it shattered painfully behind Jace, but the human boy continued to ride him like a bull. The angel raged out of the bathroom and slammed Jace into a wall once more. It was brutal, but Jace still held on.

The angel spotted his mace sticking out of the wall within arm’s reach, he grabbed it, holding it futilely in front of him. From this angle, he would never be able to hit the human boy, so the angel let out a tremendous roar and plunged one of the long spikes into his own stomach.

Jace’s eyes went wide, his grip loosened. Gabriel ripped the mace from his body and stumbled forward. Blood poured from a massive hole on Jace’s chest. The spike punched through his heart, Jace dropped to the floor, weakening.

Gabriel loomed over the teen and said in a cold voice, “Your's a fool’s sacrifice. You may have helped them sneak on the back door, but they can’t escape.”

Jace looked up at Gabriel, blood leaking from his mouth, “Fuck you.”

Gabriel raised his mighty mace over his head and swung down. Jace closed his eyed.

They were speeding off the highway, but still, Alec was driving carefully, wary of his passengers. The wall of dark clouds just up ahead, and the buzzing was a bright, ominous warning. Then, the cruiser hit the fly storm, it was pitch black, nothing was visible beyond the windows. Alec turned on the windshield wipers, hit the brights, but they were still driving blind.

Alec held back on the gas, and the cruiser speed slowed almost to a crawl. “Go faster!” Izzy yelled in the darkness.

“We can’t,” Alec said calmly as they drove through the swarm. Beside him, Magnus desperately tried to soothe their screaming baby as the flies started crawling inside through the air vents.

Magnus struggled to close the air vents to stop the inflow of buzzing insects, but it was not; their baby wailing his lungs out was not helping either, he looked at Alec in desperation. He saw his arms, particularly the tattoos decorating it, faintly glowing. Behind them, they heard Izzy and Clary gasped, their skins were faintly glowing too.

Gabriel was looking down at Jace’s broken body, it was glowing. Intricate writing similar to his own began to palely appear on the boy’s skin. He watched as the glow fainted, and the tattoos darkened.

He watched as the last writing faded from the human boy’s body when he heard a faint clicking sound from somewhere in the diner. Gabriel moved gracefully, moved through the destroyed restaurant, toward the sound of the clicking, and stepped behind the counter to see Ragnor lying in a pool of blood.

It took the angel a moment to realize that the clicking sound was coming from the fancy lighter on his outstretched hand. The fallen human was using his last ounce of life to ignite the lighter. Ragnor looked at the angel, his thumb brushed the flint one last time, “Sorry, we're closed.”

The lighter ignited, Gabriel’s eyes went wide as tiny flames danced in front of the stove’s broken gas line. He spun and ran as the gas exploded. A stream of fire engulfed him as he unfolded his wings and leaped into fiery light.

The massive explosion rocked the moving cruiser. In the rearview mirror, Alec could see the cloud of fire shaped like a mushroom up in the sky behind them. It was eerily magnificent.

“The swarm, it’s fading!”

Alec looked back to the road, the swarm suddenly dissipated around them, revealing a clear view of the highway ahead of them, he knew what made this good fortune and sent his silent gratitude to the people who made them.

The cruiser blazed down on the endless highway, Alec watched as the cloud of fire receded into the distance then turned to stare back out on the dark road ahead. Magnus cradled the baby, a little apprehensive. Baby Max let out a small sound, rooting for his chest, and he couldn’t help but smile. From the driver’s seat, Alec eyed them with a little smile on his face.

Magnus looked over, feeling Alec’s stare and saw him smiling at them. He smiled back.

Their little private moment was interrupted when Clary leaned in from the backseat, “We’re here,” she said, pointing to a beaten-up road sign that said: Now Entering Red Rock National Park.

They eyed the road sign, with hope in their eyes when the roof buckled above them, windows blew out. Magnus instinctively curled his body to protect their baby.

Gabriel smashed down on the cruiser’s roof with massive force, using his mighty wing for balance he began to stomp down on it, crushing, like someone would do to a soda can.

The occupants of the cruiser slipped frantically down in their seats as the roof pressed down at them. The windows busted; their baby wailed once more. Alec grabbed the Glock and fired wildly up the roof.

The angel took a direct hit on the thigh, she slid off the roof and onto the trunk where he grabbed hold of the rear window frame for support. The cruiser continued to speed off as Alec tried to dislodge the determined creature.

With tremendous strength, Gabriel pulled his upper body through the broken back window toward Izzy. “Alec! Gun!” Clary yelled. Alec swung the gun around, “Get down!” and fired. The angel took a bullet in his shoulder, but it didn’t slow him down. “Flare gun!” Alec yelled at the two girls.

Clary and Izzy desperately tried to load the flare gun while avoiding the angel’s grasp. Alec couldn’t get another shot without the risk of hitting either teen, and Gabriel was almost inside the cruiser. Izzy swung the flare gun toward the angel, but he knocked her hand aside just as she pulled the trigger. The flare went off inside the car, Alec ducked to avoid it and cursed as the car swerved madly.

The flare ricocheted inside the cabin, lighting up the cabin like a firework display. The flare bounced off the windshield just as Gabriel about to lunged at Magnus, nailing him in the face with an audible ping, it had set the angel’s hair ablaze. That gave Alec a chance to swung around and fired.

Gabriel was blown back partially through the rear window, but he held onto the car with an iron grip and started to pull himself back in. Alec pulled the trigger again, but the gun didn’t fire – he was out of bullets. The teens frantically reloaded the flare gun, Izzy brought it to fire back, but the angel was too fast, he knocked her into the side of the car with a sweep of his hand, out cold.

Clary scrambled to get the flare gun as Gabriel crawled toward Magnus and the baby again. “Get down!” Alec yelled. Clary squeezed her body into the space between the backseat and driver’s seat, trying to get to Izzy, but it was too cramped. Magnus pushed himself and their baby into the floor of the passenger seat, Alec punched it, the speedometer leaped ahead from seventy to ninety, and counting.

Gabriel lunged over the passenger seat, jarring Izzy awake. Clary put her arms around the angel’s neck just as his hands were only inches from Magnus and the wailing baby, Gabriel was too strong for her thin limbs. The angel halted his movement as another set of arms grabbed at him, pulling at his arm. He tried to shake them off, but the teens were relentless on their hold.

Izzy leaped on Gabriel’s back and grabbed hold of his hair; the angel flailed wildly. The speedometer hit one-twenty, Clary and Izzy shared a look, an understanding between them, “Do it now, Alec! Do it now!” Clary yelled. Alec faltered a moment, gritted his teeth then slammed on the breaks.

The sudden wild stop of the cruiser shot both teens and the angel forward through the windshield, their entwined bodies hit the road with a sickening crunch and rolled into a ball of fire.

The cruiser spun out f control, swerved off the road and careened into a large rock formation. Alec's side of the car was crushed, blood running down his forehead. Magnus, with their baby, crawled out from the floor, “Alexander!” he cried.

Alec tried to focus on him, “Alexander, c’mon!” Magnus called again, panicking. He kicked his side of the door and begun pulling Alec out.

“..r baby?” Alec slurred as he stood. He focused on Magnus with their baby bundled on his chest as he tried to regain his senses. Magnus was looking around, searching, “Izzy, Clary…”

Alec pulled his family in his arms, checking on them. He focused on their distress to calm his own. Magnus was bruised but was definitely alright, so was their baby. “Nothing could’ve survived that,” he shushed, “They saved us.” Magnus cried in anguish; Alec held him a moment longer then pulled them away from the demolished cruiser.

Stars completely filled the lightening sky as a new day forced its way to rise. Battered and bruised, Alec and Magnus struggled to do the long climb up the ridge. Magnus stopped and clutched their baby a little tighter, out of breath. “How can this happen?” Magnus asked, looking up. Alec followed his gaze, the sky was littered with endless stars, it was breathtaking. He let them rest for a while, taking in the beautiful scenery, then his eyes shifted to the top of the ridge just ahead, “We’re almost there,” he said, then he gently pulled Magnus’ arm, “C’mon. Just a little more,” he encouraged.

They were only a few steps from the edge of the ridge when their movement was suddenly halted, Magnus screamed. Gabriel rocketed up in front of them. Alec pushed Magnus and their baby away just as the angel came down hard in front of them, dust swirling around his feet.

Gabriel’s wings haltingly retracted, the crash had done him severe damage. Much of his skin was burned away, armor and flesh missing. A large part of his head was missing, too, revealing a nightmarish creature under a human visage.

Alec straightened up, ready for a fight, “You were always so eager to please Him,” he said as he stared at his brother.

“Unlike you, the rebellious son,” Gabriel’s guttural voice answered, staring back, “Pity about your wings. They would have helped you now.”

“To not feel their burden is a dream.”

Gabriel was stung by Alec’s answer, “You think you can defy Him and not pay the price?” he snarled, his gaze shifted to Magnus and the baby, “For a mud-monkey?”

“Our child lives. What happens to me doesn’t matter now,” Alex replied, unwavering.

“You are a fool. You are not going to leave this place alive.”

“And neither will you, brother.” Alec slowly approached Gabriel, among his brethren, he was the closest to him, “I’m not running anymore.” Gabriel hesitated, doubt coloring his face, this was not he was expecting. Alec sensed his brother’s hesitation, tried to reach out to him, “You don’t need to do this. There’s another way.”

Gabriel stilled for a beat, then his face hardened. He charged at Alec, fast. Alec whipped one of his Glock and fired. His brother took the bullet, but Gabriel slapped the gun from his hand. He raised his mace, long deadly spikes burst from all its sides and thrust with it. Alec narrowly evaded the razor point, which was driven to the ground. Alec smashed down on Gabriel’s wrist, cracking the bone. Then a swift kick to the chest and his brother was pushed crashing back, loosening his grip on his deadly weapon.

Alec followed it with a punch and connected with Gabriel’s chin, rocking the angel further back. He might not have his angelic powers anymore, but he could still fight. But Gabriel was a supernatural being, more annoyed than surprised, he threw a punch of his own, knocking Alec savagely to the ground.

Alec got up to his feet quickly and came at Gabriel, swinging. The angel avoided it swiftly and knocked him to the dirt again. He was hurt and bleeding, but he got up once more and raised his fist. He would not merely give up. Alec moved in again, swung hard, but Gabriel blocked it and shot out a hand and grabbed his throat then slowly lifted him off the ground.

“Alexander!” Magnus screamed, eyes wide in fear but glowering in anger, “You let him go, you prick!”

Gabriel shifted his eye at Magnus, considering. The mud-monkey was brave. Pity. “Magnus! Run!” Alec gasped; his hands were desperately trying to dislodge his brother’s hand from his neck.

The angel turned back his attention on his brother, eyes cold, “So brave yet so pointless. This is what you’re sacrificing your life for?” Gabriel asked as he pushed his hand at the edge of the ridge.

Alec’s feet dangled at the edge, and his eyes bulged out, but he continued to glare at Gabriel, he clawed at his brother’s iron-fast grip, but the angel was not budging. Magnus watched in horror, “Stop! Please don’t kill him!” he said pleadingly, crying. Alec’s eyes fluttered; he was losing consciousness. It felt like the battle was lost. All was gone.

“Stop it! I’ll give you the baby!” Magnus shouted, desperate. Gabriel looked at him. Magnus climbed to his feet and held out a bundle of blankets to him.

“N-no,” Alec said weakly.

“I don’t want him in the first place!” Magnus was crying, tears ran down his face, but he was serious. Gabriel let go of his brother, Alec fell to the edge, to the rocks below. “No! Alexander!”

The angel moved away from the edge, face eerily calm, and walked toward Magnus. He took the bundle and turned away. “And as the child’s cries are extinguished, eternal darkness, at last, descended upon the world,” he declared, then peeled the cloth and stared at a…grenade. Magnus was holding the pin.

Gabriel threw the grenade away from him just as it exploded. The explosion lighted up like a grand firework during a festival; it was loud and ground shaking. Dust and pulverized rocks showered them.

Magnus looked up in disbelief, mouth gaping in fright; the angel was still standing. Gabriel spun to face him, and he gasped loudly. The explosion completely tore off his human visage. Metal feathers completely gone from his wings, leaving the spindly frame bare. “You think you can make a fool of me, mud-monkey?” he snarled.

Magnus crawled backward, away from the creature, “My name is Magnus!” he yelled bravely, glaring, despite his fears. “You will never have our baby!”

Gabriel shifted his gaze toward the edge of the ridge, “You both are fools,” he said, then noticed his menacing mace still plunged in the ground and smiled garishly. He grabbed hold of it and sauntered toward the human, taunting.

Gabriel stood above Magnus, mace raised above his head, razor-sharp blades glinting menacingly in the purple-orange sky. Magnus closed his eyes, tears falling, submitting. But the hit never came, everything stilled around them. The angel and the human frozen in time.

Alec swooped down from above, armor-clad and sword raised, his enormous wings spread magnificently behind him. Dust swirled around his boots when he landed beside them. Alec crouched down, took Magnus in his arms, and cradled him close to his chest, protectively. Gabriel’s mace hit an empty ground.

Alec put Magnus down gently, he nosed at his temple, urging him to open his eyes. Magnus looked at him, dazed. It was too surreal. Magnus took in his armor, his wounds had been healed and gone, then his gaze shifted on the beautiful wings behind Alec’s back. “You’re alive,” he said, unbelieving, Magnus raised a finger to touch his cheek as if to test that he was really there. Alec nodded and smiled.

A rustle made Alec turned and stepped in front of Magnus. His heart broke at what he saw, how far had Gabriel had fallen, he looked like a creature from hell instead of one of his brethren. “This can’t be,” Gabriel said, befuddled, “You disobeyed Him.”

Alec looked at his brother with sorrow, “You gave him what He asked,” he answered simply, “I gave him what He needed.”

Gabriel snarled and attacked, Alec met him with a brutal force, sword to mace. The two metals clanked against each other, sparks lighted between them. Gabriel swung madly, driven by bitterness, Alec blocked his every move. “Stop this now, Gabriel,” Alec pleaded.

But the angel was mad with bitterness, he was swinging his mace blindly. In his peripheral, he caught sight of Magnus edging away from them, “This is all your fault, mud-monkey!” he snarled and charge at the human.

Alec was quick to move and blocked Gabriel with one mighty swing of his sword, slicing his mace in half. Blood poured from his sliced belly, he dropped down on his knees. “Kill me,” he gasped as Alec pointed the tip of his sword at him.

“No,” Alec refused gently, eyes soft, “It is over now, brother,” he said, looking toward the sky. Gabriel followed his gaze; from the edge of the ridge, he saw his brethren rocketing up toward the heavens. The legions of creatures of light, flying home.

The sun shone brighter at the clear sky in the early morning. It was getting brighter, Magnus shielded his eyes from it as the bright light of the sun engulfed them, then centered toward the brothers. He watched Gabriel’s wounded body disappeared, along with Alec’s wings. Burnt feathers swirled with dust in the crisp morning air. Alec stood there, watching as if bidding a final goodbye.

Alec turned to the sound of cooing sounds, Magnus picked up the baby from the nearby bush, bundled him in his waiter uniform and turned to Alec. “Alexander, your wings,” Magnus cried softly, looking at Alec’s back, “you lost them.”

Alec walked to them, gathered his small family in his arms. Magnus looked at him, guilt was starting to color his face, but Alec looked at him firmly, “I chose this,” he answered, not an ounce of regret in his voice, “You are worth more than a thousand wings and eternity, Magnus.”

Magnus didn’t know how to respond to that, so, “You are an idiot,” he whispered, sniffling. “The world needs you.”

“I don’t want the world. I want you.” At those words, Magnus looked deep into Alec’s eyes, he saw a man who would rearrange the universe for them. Magnus leaned up and kissed him, it was tender and soft. Alec put his hand behind Magnus’ neck and deepened the kiss, but the sound of a gurgling baby broke them apart. Alec leaned his forehead on Magnus’, both smiling.

“C’mon,” Alec said, “they’re waiting.” Magnus looked at him questioningly but let Alec's strong arms guide them to the top of the ridge and down the desert valley below.

When they came down from the ridge, Red Rock was already lost. The city was ablaze, black smoke billowed in the air. Some structures looked like half-bombed, its walls crumbling. There were fires everywhere, everything was burning.

They walked over to the crumbling maze of intersection; burnt-out husks of vehicles sat in rows of the highway. On the horizon was the bright sun, and they followed its glow.

Up ahead of the road, parked a six-seater van, besides it stood three figures. Magnus hesitated, looked at Alec, anxious. Alec nodded, reassuring, at him and tugged them gently toward the figures.

Izzy, Clary, and Simon smiled as they approached, Jace waved from the driver’s seat. The teens sporting the same tattoos that covered Alec’s body, visible parts peeked through their clothes. Magnus perked at seeing them, then he looked around, searching, expecting to see more familiar faces, but it was only the four of them. His face crumbled forlornly.

Alec held Magnus’s hand, kissed his temple, “God works in mysterious ways,” he whispered.

They drove through the vast, barren Mojave Desert, went from town to town. But no signs of life, no resistance force. Nothing. “Maybe they are over the next ridge?” Magnus asked, worry in his eyes. Alec glanced at him from the driver’s seat. “What if we’re on our own?”

“Don’t be afraid. We’ll find them,” Alec assured confidently, he took Magnus’s hand and held it firmly, providing comfort. “We’ll be okay. Believe me.”

They sped off the highway, the blood-red sun sinking down behind them. Soon the unbearable heat would become unbearable cold. Magnus cradled their sleeping baby close to his chest, a soft, warm smile on his face. Alec glanced once more at Magnus and their baby and proudly, lovingly smiled at the picture of parental bliss. The other occupants settled on the backseat, chattering, bantering amicably. They were a sight of a happy family, except for the impressive weaponry strapped to their bodies.


	11. Eight years later...

Eight years later…

The ancient, magnificent city was now laid in ruins; demons roamed its streets as the sea swelled along its endless wall. Inside it, beyond the trees, was an imposing structure, a prison - for the criminally insane. Or it was used to be, just like the city that housed it; remnants of an old curtain billowed in the air, undisturbed by the tides of time.

Inside the prison, a corridor of stone and steel extended into infinite darkness. Stale air hanged in the dim half-light and dank space like atomized ether as muttered curses and tangled voices drifted past the prison cells. The heavy footsteps echoed through the walls. _Who the fuck hid a mortal instrument inside a prison wall?_

“Fuck!” Alec cursed as they came into yet another dead end, the _Drevak_ demons coming in close behind them. He and Jace nudged the thick wooden door with their shoulders, the door budged, and they pushed it open to a pitch-dark chamber.

Jace lighted his witch light, cursed, and almost rolled his eyes. “Sonuvabitch.”

The choked in the heavy air as they scanned the musty room. It must have been an old storage room, there were old crates and ancient furniture scattered about around them. There were also remains of deteriorating skeletons at their feet.

Alec tilted his head up and looked to the far wall, there he saw a glint of light above the crumbling limestone. He nudged Jace and motioned him to look up - it was their way out. It was a little way above them but not too high to reach. They pulled crates after out of a cobweb corner and stacked them out.

The shrieking of the demons was getting closer, Alec secured the Mortal Cup inside the bag he carried on his back and climbed the wall. They finally broke free from the darkness, then they ran for the trees on the other side of the wall.

“Lorenzo!” they called as they ran through the trees.

A man with sleek black hair in a neat ponytail stepped from the foliage, a Warlock, red light blazing his hands as he moved his arms in a circular motion. Out of thin air, a hole opened, red light shimmering on its edges. “Vamonos!” the warlock yelled.

The three of them went through the portal, the hordes of _Drevak_ demons screeching behind them. There was a feeling of motion sickness, then everything went still, the screeching was gone replaced by the sound of buzzing people on the Institute’s ground.

“I’ll never get used to that,” Jace gasped, breathing heavily. Alec stood beside him, smiling triumphantly. There was a harrumphed, then a swooshed of air, “I expect proper compensation,” Lorenzo said, eyebrow raised and eyes squinted, before stepping through another portal.

Jace chuckled at that. “When is Max’s training going to be? He’s supposed to lead the world out of darkness, or so you said,” he asked as they trudged their way inside the Institute, making conversation to distract themselves from tiredness.

Alec looked at the blond, pensive, “We already are,” he answered. Jace looked at him in surprise, was about to ask something but Alec cut him off, “We are raising him with love and respect,” he said, then he added after a beat, “Leadership doesn’t always mean brute force.” Jace clapped Alec in the shoulder and smiled proudly at him.

_The angels left, and demons roamed the world, but all was not lost, they might have been gone, but they left guardians behind._

Governments fell. Cities were in chaos, and its citizen was in despair. Demons roamed the earth. Creatures emerged from the shadows that his behind tales and folklore walked among humans; Vampires, Werewolves, Warlocks, and Seelies. Humans and the supernatural blurred in a jumble as the earth heal, and history rewrote itself.

Shadow hunters were born after the _almost_ apocalypse, mortals with angelic powers and capabilities were the guardians left by the angels – sentries of the world.

New York was the first city that was reclaimed. A resistance force holed up in an abandoned church greeted them when they arrived, led by a former police officer, Andrew Underhill. He, too, was covered in the same tattoos as Alec’s and the teens.

Alexander, Magnus found, was a very tactile person as if he was touch starve all his existence. Most likely he was, the ex-angel had only watched him from conception to adulthood. And Alec always watched them, not in a lecherous way. There were times when he looked at Magnus like that, but mostly, he watched them like a guardian would, making sure that his wards had not strayed too far from him. Alec was like a brand-new type of stalker.

Magnus woke up from his nap, immediately, sounds of an exuberant chorus of “Dad! Daddy!” and “Uncle Jace! Uncle Jace!” came to assault him, he smiled and got up from the bed. Then, the pitter-patter of rambunctious pairs of little feet, followed by heavy boots, came next. Boisterous laugh and happy, excited squeals could be heard from outside the bedroom door. They were back from their mission of finding Mortal Instruments, then.

Magnus was making the bed when the door opened and closed. He didn’t need to turn to know who it was. Warm, strong hands grabbed at his waist, encasing the distended belly and rubbing it in circles, “How are we?” Alec asked as he placed a tender kiss on his neck.

Physical affection was something they both welcomed wholeheartedly, and Magnus knew the ex-angel held him in high regard, but trust didn’t come easy to Magnus, it took him a long time to trust that Alec wouldn’t suddenly vanish on him, on them. And it took an even longer time for Magnus to finally admit his feelings. He knew Alec longed for those words to be said back to him, but he had never pressure Magnus into anything. He waited, was waiting still, patiently and respectfully.

Magnus turned around in the arms that held him, “ _We_ are tired,” he sighed, placing a hand atop his belly, “Max is so energetic. Always getting into mischief. Ragnor And Cat are no different,” said fondly.

Alec found baby warlocks from one of their demon raids, they were younger than Max by two years. Magnus instantly fell in love with the green and blue babies when Alec brought them to the Institute. They had searched for the parents but didn’t find anyone, and no one came forward to claim the babies. So, they both decided to keep the babies, and Magnus named them after his dearest friends.

“Reminds me of someone,” Alec said laughingly as he playfully patted a bum. Magnus shoved at his chest with no heat, protesting. Alec laughed even harder before he placed a kiss on Magnus’s temple, “I better wash this ichor off me,” he said, releasing him. Magnus wrinkled his nose in agreement.

Magnus watched Alec took off his clothes, meticulously, like he would take care of their son, or his weapon. He was always like that, Alec put care in everything he did.

“I love you,” Magnus said. Alec stilled. “Do you still…” _love me?_ He paused, uncertain. It had been too long, so many years had passed, their Max was almost eight years old now. They might have had another child in the way, but Alec could have had a change of heart in the past years. He could only be staying out of obligation or duty, Alec was Magnus’s guardian angel after all.

Alec turned to him, bare, except for the black fitting boxer hugging his hips. All of Magnus’s doubts melted when Alec enveloped him in his arms, “Always,” Alec rasped, eyes glistening as he cradled a cheek in his palm, “I always have.”

Magnus leaned up and accepted the heated kisses with his whole being. Alec roamed his body gently, carefully, but he could feel the wild energy within the caresses. Magnus broke the kiss, “I’m not going to break, Alexander,” he moaned, pupils blown with lust as he stared into Alec’s similar ones.

Magnus was startled when he landed on top of Alec, a look of concern flitted the stormy blue eyes as he rubbed at the early baby bump, Magnus shook his head, smiling softly, “We’re okay,” he assured, “You didn’t hurt us.”

With that, Magnus was flipped laughingly onto his back, Alec loomed large over him. Alec pinned Magnus’s wrists above his head in one hand and pressed the clothed caramel limbs apart with a strong knee. Alec leaned forward to take Magnus’s lips into his own as his other hand reached the button of Magnus’s fly.

“Please, I need you,” Magnus begged as he writhed and moaned wantonly beneath him, and it the sounds went straight inside Alec’s boxers, his erect member aching and leaking.

“As I need you,” Alec growled, eyes drawn to the rosy flesh that danced enticingly at Magnus’s abdomen, silver beads at the tip.

Alec bit gently on Magnus’s neck before slowly licking his way down the honeyed body. A loud crash was heard outside their room, followed by squeals, then laughter. Alec and Magnus broke apart, startled, and eyes wide. Alec was rigid with tension above him, listening for any immediate danger.

“I better see what that is before they destroy the whole place,” Magnus groaned. Alec relaxed his body and let Magnus got up but held on his hand.

Mangus captured his lips in a deep kiss, fingers toying at the hair on Alec’s nape, “Later?” he asked, breathing heavily and eyes heady.

“Later,” Alec confirmed, finally releasing Magnus’s hand. Magnus rearranged his clothes and walked out of the room, ready to pummel Jace.

End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you liked it! :)


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